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THE AMERICAN 
SUGAR INDUSTRY 

A practical manual on the production of 
Sugar Beets and Sugar Cane, and on the 
manufacture of Sttgar therefrom 



PREFACED BY A TREATISE ON THE ECONOMIC 
ASPECTS OF THE WHOLE SUGAR QUESTION 
AND ITS BEARINGS UPON AMERICAN AGRI- 
CULTURE, MANUFACTURES, LABOR AND 
CAPITAL 

Constituting a handbook for the Farmer or Manu- 
facturer, Capitalist or Laborer, Statesman or Student 



By HERBERT MYRICK 

Author of " Sugar, a New and Profitable Industry," " Leaf Tobacco," 
"The Hop," "How to Co-operate," Editor American Agriculturist, 
Orange judd Farmer, The New England Homestead, Farm and Home, 
Treasurer American Sugar Growers' Society, etc., etc. 



1 91 5 i-' 

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DISTANT VIEW OF PACIFIC SUGAR FACTORY 

From southwest. At extreme right-liand corner of main building, rear, yertical lime kiln is shown. 
Other buildings as described in Part Four, Chapter III, 



Table of Contents^ 



PART ONE— ECONOMICS OF DOMESTIC SUGAR PRODUCTION. 

Chapter I— SITUATION OF THE INDUSTRY at the opening of 1899— What the 
industry means to the United States — Its great possibilities recognized by Congress 
The Dingley tariff a just measure — The effect of that law — Remarkable progress 
during the past three years — The vitality of this industry — What is now needed. 

CiXAPTEK II— DOMESTIC SUGAR VERSUS "EXPANSION"— The interests at stake— 
What there is in it for the annexationists — Unlimited possibilities of sugar pro- 
duction by the yellow races — Protection for the American farmers and laborers — 
The English tariff applies to colonial equally with foreign produce — Industries to 
be hurt by absorption — Shall the American farmer be sacrificed? — Loss of revenue 
and increased taxation — No compensating advantages — These views endorsed by 
organized agriculture and labor. 

Chapter III— THE HAWAIIAN IMPOSITION— False representation regarding coolie 
contract labor — More than deliberate bad faith — Abuses among coolie slaves — Some 
interesting sidelights — An American oligarchy. 

PART TWO— THE CANE SUGAR INDUSTRY— The area capable of growing sugar cane 
— Peculiarity of the crop — Present obstacles to the cane industry — The great trouble 
in the sugar cane industry — The soil adapted to sugar cane — How the soil is usually 
prepared — Culture — Harvesting — Rotation of crops — How to start the cane sugar 
industry — Description of manufacture — Quality and grades of the product. 

Ill 



IV THE SUGAR INDUSTKY. 

PAIIT THREE— THE BEET Si: GAR INDUSTRY IN AMERICA PRIOR TO 1897. 

Chapter I— WHAT HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES— 
Failure of early attempts — An exception — Honor to whom honor is due — Recent 
development — The record in brief — What of the future — Elementary principles — 
Technical terms explained — Quality of the beet sugar — How beet sugar is made. 

Chapter II— HOW THE INDUSTRY GREW IN EACH STATE— California, the 
Spreckels enterprise at Watsonville — Alvarado's persistent fight and final triumph 
The marvelous results at Chino — The new factories in California — Nebraska's try- 
ing experience and ultimate success — W^onderful results in Utah — In the Pecos val- 
ley of New Mexico — Scientific and practical tests to demonstrate the adaptability 
of the sugar beet crop to conditions in other states, including results of the 1896 
crop. 

Chapter III— CULTURE OF THE SUGAR BEET— Climatic conditions— Varieties ol 
beets — Soils for the sugar beet — Rotation of crops — Feeding the plant — Plowing — 
More about subsoiling — Preparation of seed bed — Seeding — Hoeing — Thinning out — 
Irrigation — Harvesting — Storing beets — Feeding and storing beet pulp, tops and 
molasses. 

Chapter IV— COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY— Cost 
and profits of beet culture — Actual recent experience of practical farmers in rais- 
ing beets on a large and small scale — How the industry employs and pays labor — 
It;5 manifold advantages — The brilliant promise to capital, provided the American 
market is reserved for American sugar — How to start a factory, its location, 
requirements, equipment, management, etc. — Cautions to all new to the industry. 

PART FOUR— PROGRESS IN AMERICA'S SUGAR INDUSTRY SINCE 1896. 

Chapter I— DEVELOPMENT EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI— As to New England- 
Remarkable conditions in the state of New York, which bids fair to be a hotbed of 
the industry — Splendid prospects in Michigan, a great sugar state — Pennsylvania 
and Ohio — The middle south — Indiana and Illinois — Michigan's and Wisconsin's 
peculiar qualifications for beet culture and sugar making. 

Chapter II— FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MOUNTAINS— A banner campaign 
in Nebraska — Encouraging conditions in Minnesota — The Dakotas and Iowa and 
other sugar states — Conflicting views from Kansas and Missouri — The Mountain 
states as beet sugar centers. 

Chapter III— THE BEST DEVELOPMENT ON THE PACIFIC COAST— A new fac- 
tory's encouraging start in eastern Oregon — Washington in line — Millions going 
into beet sugar enterprises in California — Largest beet sugar mill in the world — 
The model beet sugar plant of America — Other factories and notes of progress. 

Chapter IV— LESSONS OF MOST RECENT EXPERIENCE— Mistakes to avoid- 
How to insure success — Latest teaching from science and practice in culture of the 
beet — Steam plowing — Use of beet pulp — Other hints. 
APPENDIX— Reference tables and statistics — List of places that want sugar factories — 
Directory and advertisements of manufacturers of sugar mill machinery, imple- 
ments for culture of beets and cane, seed, supplies, etc., etc. 



Author's Preface* 



In January, 1897, appeared the author's first book on this subject, entitled "Sugar, 
a New and Profitable Industry in the United States, for Agriculture, Capital and Labor, 
to Supply the Home Market with $100,000,000 of Its Product." That book was received 
with favor, not only among farmers and capitalists and by the press, but especially in 
the Congress of the United States and by American statesmen at home and abroad. 

National legislation favorable to the development of our domestic sugar-producing 
industry was enacted by the Congress during the summer of 1897. This was followed 
by a phenomenal interest in America's domestic sugar industry, which, however, gave 
way to uncertainty with the advent of the Spanish war and the problems raised thereby. 
Provided those problems are now solved with due regard for American interests, it 
only needs proper direction and right management to secure for the United States large 
and permanent good from a vast development of its domestic sugar-producing industry. 

Many of those best capable of judging have been kind enough to partly attribute 
the promising outlook for this new industry, at the outbreak of the Spanish war, to the 
book referred to, to the American Sugar Growers' Society organized by the author, and 
to the agricultural journals under his editorial direction. This would seem to impose 
upon the author a moral obligation to do whatever lies in his power to help the industry 
through its new politico-economic crisis. 

It also seems incumbent upon the author to present the important scientific, prac- 
tical and financial results of the seasons of 1897 and 1898, in addition to the fruits of 
all prior experience. Thus unfortunate and costly mistakes in this new industry may 
be avoided, and uniform success attained by both farmer and capitalist. 

In order that Congress and the general public, as well as farmers, may obtain a 
true idea of the magnitude and promise of this new industry in various directions, an 
appendix is added to accommodate the announcements of machinery builders, furnishers 
of seeds, supplies and implements, communities that want sugar mills, settlers, etc. 
No one can look through these announcements without being deeply impressed, while 
they also constitute a most useful directory of everything pertaining to the sugar 
industry. 

Embodied in this new edition are Parts Two and Three from the author's first 
work, the better to reflect the evolution of the industry and to emphasize the teachings 
of experience. This is perhaps an unique plan in a book, but if so it is merely in keeping 
With the unique spectacle of a nation of 75,000,000 people attempting to speedily develop 
its domestic sugar industry. 

THE AUTHOR. 




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PART ONE. 

Economics of Domestic Sugar Production* 



CHAPTER I. 

SITUATION AT THE OPENING OF 1899. 

An entirely new danger now threatens the otherwise promising domestic industry 
of sugar production. It is the proposed free admission into the markets of the United 
States of sugar from Porto Rico, Cuba, the British West Indies and the Philippines and 
the continuance of the contract labor system in Hawaii. But for these dangers, there 
would now be under construction many new and large beet sugar factories in the east- 
ern, central and western states, and extensive cane sugar houses in Louisiana, Florida 
and Texas. With four-cent cotton at the south and wheat down again to low prices, the 
importance of developing the domestic sugar industry may be emphasized by rehearsing 
a few comparisons. 

The value of the sugar imported into the United States averages about $100,000,000 
each year. The quantity doubles every fifteen years. Besides this, the imports of tobacco, 
wool, cotton, hides, vegetables, breadstuffs, fruits and nuts, dairy produce and eggs, hay 
and hops, rice and flaxseed, bristles and hair, bark and sumach, etc., represent in value 
another $100,000,000. This is somewhat less than formerly. But it is true that within 
the present limits of continental United States could be produced all these $200,000,000 
worth of agricultural imports without materially affecting American agricultural exports. 

Taking the fiscal year 1896 as a fairly average one for our foreign trade, and it 
appears that "every pound of the wheat and flour exported from the United States that 
year was barely enough to pay for the sugar imported. The total value of all live and 
dressed beef, beef products and lard exported that year barely equalled the amount paid 
for imported sugar. The immense export trade in cotton represented in value only twice 
as much as the import of sugar. The vast exports of tobacco must be magnified thrice 
to counterbalance sugar imports. The barley, oats and rye, fruits and nuts, hops, vege- 
table oils, oleomargarine, butter and cheese, pork and hams that were exported that 
year all put together represented in value only two-thirds of the sugar imported." 

WHAT THE vSUGAR INDUSTRY MEANS TO THE X'XITED STATES. 

Taking the Imports for 1895-6 as representing the fair average importation of 
sugar, say 1,720,000 long tons annually, to produce this quantity would require 920 fac- 
tories, each working up 350 tons of beets during a campaign of 100 days of 24 hours. 
Each factory would need 2,000 to 2,500 acres of beets, or about 2,000,000 acres in all. As 
the crop should be rotated and only grown on the same ground every third year, three 
times as large an area would be needed. 

At an average of only ten tons of beets per acre, the total crop would approximate 
20,000,000 tons. At only $4 per ton net for beets delivered to the factory, the farmers 

(1) 



2 THE SUGAR INDUSTRr. 

would receive $80,000,000 for this new crop. That is to say, this money would go into 
our farmers' pockets each year instead of being sent out of the country to pay for 
imported sugars. 

Each factory would cost about $350,000, or over $300,000,000 for the 920 factories 
needed to malte our own sugar. The cost of labor and materials for running each fdc- 
tory, aside from beets, would be about $500 a day during the campaign, or $50,000 for 
the season. Thus the annual distribution for labor and materials would approximate 
$45,000,000! 

Each of these 900 or more sugar mills means the distribution every year in the 
immediate community of the following amounts: 

For beets, 30,000 to 50,000 tons $15^,000 to $200,000 

Factory labor and supplies 50,000 to 75,000 

Repairs, salaries, etc 10,000 to 25,000 

Profits and reserves 25,000 to 75,000 

Total $235,000 to $375,000 

It is safe to calculate on a yearly turn-over by each factory equal in amount to its 
capital, under average conditions. This is even more true of the larger sugar factories. 
It is proving true of the mammoth concerns that are growing up in California, each 
representing an investment of from $1,000,000 to nearly $3,000,000. Indeed farmers will 
be paid $2,500,000 or more each year for the beets needed to supply only the two mills 
at Watsonville and Salinas in that state. 

CONGRESS RECOGNIZED THE GREAT POSSIBILITIES 

of the domestic sugar industry and in the Dingley tariff of July 24,1897, endeavored to 
provide suitable protection to both producers and refiners. That tariff was not secured 
until after a bitter fight, in which the AmericTu farmer for the first time came to the 
front and demanded that the sugar schedule should be framed in the interests of the 
domestic grower of sugar beets and sugar cane, instead of being framed to specially 
protect the refiner of imported raw sugars. 

The Dingley tariff is serving its purpose well. Owing to large imports before it 
went into effect, its operation for the fiscal year 1S98 is only indicative of what may be 
expected from the present sugar schedule if it continues to be fairly enforced against 
all sugars. 

Certain friends of the American Sugar Refining Company, or sugar trust, claimed the 
new law was especially favorable to that concern even after the House had compelled the 
Senate to recede from the Senate schedule that did foster the refiners at the expense of 
domestic producers. On the strength of this claim, the shares of the trust were "boomed"' 
from around par to nearly 150. But in spite of the profits on imports at lower duties 
prior to July, 1897, the new law did not specially benefit the trust and its shares collapsed 
again. Indeed the imports of refined sugar under the Dingley tariff have been unex- 
pectedly large. 

Imports of raw sugar from Europe have almost ceased, owing to the higher tariff 
and the countervailing duties equal to European export bounties. Indeed only 158 mil- 
lion pounds of raw sugar were imported from Europe in 1898, compared to 1,899 million 
pounds in '97. Contrast this decrease of twelve-fold in one year with the increase of five- 
fold in Europe's sugar exports to the United States in '96 over '95! 

Imports from the countries to the south of us also show a decline, largely owing 
to the continued curtailment of production in Cuba caused by the war. 




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THE SUGAR INDtJSTRY. 



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THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 3 

Only the yellow races have held their own in our markets. In '97 the sugar 
imported into the United States from the East Indies, Hawaii and Africa (Egypt) was 
double the imports of '95. The full increase was maintained in 1898. The imports of 
coolie-grown sugar into the United States are now some 600,000 tons per year, compared 
to only 250,000 so recently as 1892. 

In two years Hawaii practically doubled its shipments of sugar to the United States, 
which in 1898 were 500,000,000 pounds, compared to 274,000,000 pounds in '95, That region 
is enormously Increasing its output. 

A JUST MEASURE. — THE DINGLEY TARIFF, 

aside from the mistake of free sugar from Hawaii (for v/hich it is not responsible), may 
therefore be said to be quite satisfactory to domestic producers, and is fairly designed 
to develop a great American sugar industry. For details of its operation, see Table A, 
appendix. 

The present duties levied upon sugar imported into the United States are much 
lower than the tariff of any other modern nation, England excepted. The United States 
tariff on. sugar is now only from one-half to one-fourth as much as European tariffs, as 
shown by Table B, appendix. This country pays no export bounty on sugar. It 
now offers less encouragement to domestic sugar production than any other modern 
nation, England alone excepted, and she is naturally ill-adapted to beet culture. Cer- 
tainly, it is only fair that this slight measure of protection to our domestic sugar pro- 
ducers be not jeopardized by favors of any kind to tropical sugars. 

A few more years of this policy, and the home production of sugar in the United 
States will become so large as to result in still further lowering prices to consumers, 
although consumers in the United States now pay much less for this necessity than any 
European people. A continuance of the present tariff policy will in time probably enable 
our producers to compete in the export trade. This has been the outcome of a similar 
policy regarding steel rails and a variety of manufactures, of which the export is now 
constantly increasing. Indeed steel rails are now being exported to all parts of tho 
world at $15 to $18 a ton, which cost nearly ten times as much to import some years 
since. 

EFFECT OF THE DINGLE Y TARIFF 

on the development of domestic cane sugar and beet sugar production in the United 
States is shown in detail in Tables C and D, appendix. Observe that in spite of 1898 
having been the worst season in Louisiana for twenty years, the cane sugar industry 
shows a gratifying increase. 

A most astonishing exhibit is afforded by the increase of the beet sugar industry 
in this country. Prior to the Wilson tariff of 1894, six factories were operating, employ- 
ing some $4,000,000 of capital, using about 400,000 tons of beets and paying farmers there- 
for upward of $2,000,000 a year. 

In 1899 these six old mills and fifteen new factories are now (January, '99) about 
ready to run, employing $10,000,000 of capital, and have already contracted for some 
1,250.000 tons of beets, for which farmers are to be paid nearly $6,000,000. 

This statement does not include any of the great number of beet sugar enterprises 
that are now in the formative stage. Many of these would have been under construc- 
tion ere this, but for the uncertainties caused by th^ Spanish war and its results. Some 
of these enterprises are being rapidly pushed in order to have factories ready to work 
up the 1899 crop of beets, and in the confidence that Congress will not lower the tariff 
on tropical sugars. It is probable, therefore, that numerous additional factories will be 



4 THE SUGAK IJTDUSTKY. 

operating this fall, representing additional millions of capital and of money paid to 
farmers. But for an unprecedented drouth in California, the product of beet sugar in 
1898 would have been much larger. 

For a complete insight into the progress of the industry prior to 1897, see Parts 
Two and Three, while the results and lessons of 1897 and 1898 are fully stated in Part 
Four. 

ALL THAT IS ??OW NEEDED 

to insure a speedy, permanent and profitable development of this industry in the United 
States, is the declaration by Congress that sugar from the tropics shall continue to pay 
the same duties in the future as in the past. Also prohibit coolie-contract labor in the 
Sandwich Islands, and avoid unjust reciprocity. 

Millions upon millions of capital, domestic and foreign, will at once flow into this 
industry. It is conservative to say that, if Congress thus acts promptly, upward of 
$50,000,000 will be invested in new factories in time to work up the 1900 crop of beets. 
This would make a home market for some $25,000,000 worth of beets in 1900, in addition 
to the crop required for existing factories. Several millions would also go into the cane 
sugar industry of Louisiana, Florida and Texas. 

I also venture the prediction that, if such politico-economic policy is at once deter- 
mined upon and is not changed for ten years, long before 1910 the United States will be 
producing practically all the sugar it now consumes. This is a consummation devoutly 
to be wished. 

THE VITALITY OF THIS INDUSTRY, 

especially beet sugar, is shown by its development in the face of the greatest economic 
and political changes and uncertainties that ever beset a new industry. Just as it began 
to attract attention, the free-sugar law of 1890 offered a mighty stimulus to Europe's 
established beet sugar factories at the expense of the struggling industry in the United 
States, which our domestic bounty of 2c per lb by no means equalized. "Free sugar and 
a bounty," at that time was one of the greatest economic errors ever committed. 

This was overthrown by the Wilson revenue tariff of 1894, which introduced an 
entirely new set of conditions. Then came the Dingley tariff of 1897, which had not been 
in operation a year before the Spanish war brought in wholly unexpected complications 
and uncertainties. 

Surely it is not unreasonable to demand that now the present law be steadily main- 
tained in full effect for a series of years. This demand is all the more reasonable in view 
of the fact that existing duties are less than one-half the average tariff now enforced by 
eight European nations. 

WHY DID NOT THE AMERICAN SUGAR INDUSTRY DEVELOP EARLIER? 

Because when the sugar beet was first tried, 20 and 25 years ago, other crops paid 
so much better that farmers did not have the patience to learn how to grow beets. The 
first factories were not well located to secure an abundant supply of rich beets. The 
whole thing was comparatively new, and beets were of poorer quality than now. Then, 
10 and 12 per cent, of .sugar in the beets was considered fair; now anything below 12 per 
cent, is not accepted at the factory, averages of 14 to 15 per cent, over large areas are 
not uncommon, while tests of 18 to 24 per cent, sugar in American beets are on record. 
The beet is a thoroughbred that improves in richness as a result of proper inbreeding 
and care. Another powerful obstacle to the beet-sugar industry in America 10 and 20 
years ago was, that with high-priced wheat and virgin land free of cost, other crops were 
more profitable in comparison with the labor involved. 




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6 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

With sugar cane, the industry prior to the war was conducted by slave labor and 
without much enterprise, the increase in slaves being an element of the profits. The 
industry was destroyed during the war. It took 20 years thereafter and an expenditure 
of 321,000,000 to rebuild the levees and reclaim the plantations, and it was not until 1878 
that Louisiana's product was restored to the figures of 1844—115,000 tons. From 1878 to 
1886 there was much trouble with high water and crevasses, while as early as 1884 an 
era of low prices set in, which were helped by a reduced scale of duties. Almost any other 
industry would have succumbed to such adverse influences, but our sugar producers, 
though discouraged, would not admit defeat. They established an experiment station to 
learn more about fertilizing and chemical control of sugarhouse work, changed in a 
large measure to the central factory system— just as the dairy people have done— im- 
proved the sugarhouse equipment, and by 1890 had doubled the crop of 1878. Then came 
the "bounty" period, in which the growth of production in four years was from 165,000 
tons to 824,000 tons. Then came reduced duties in 1894, following which sudden change 
many plantations were sold for a song. But the Dingley tariff of 1897 restored fair pros- 
pects for the cane sugar interests of the United States. 

Another reason why the beet sugar industry did not develop much prior to 1890, 
was that the United States department of agriculture, discouraged by a few failures, or 
blind to the merits of the beet root, led a wild-goose chase after sorghum. The possi- 
bilities of sorghum are not denied, but the practical realities of cane and beets are such as 
to eclipse sorghum for commercial purposes. After it had been demonstrated that sor- 
ghum was not a reliable sugar plant, as compared with sugar cane or the beet root, 
government spent millions of money and years of time upon it. Sorghum could be 
cheaply raised like corn, v/as not a "back-bending crop" like the beet. The American 
Agriculturist did what it could to stem the sorghum craze by showing what the beet 
sugar industry was doing in practice compared to the meager results of the sorghum 
theory, but it took years of bitter and costly experience on the part of government and 
farmers to vindicate our position. So the sorghum craze, fed from national and state 
treasuries, swept over the country for a dozen years. 

But as it exploded, more work was done with sugar beets, until, when the McKin- 
ley law of 1890 was enacted, experience had pointed out the way to the success that has 
since been achieved. But hardly had a few beet sugar factories been established under 
the McKinley act before its repeal was ordered by the people. In spite of the ensuing 
uncertainties, the development of this industry since 1894, and especially since 1897, is 
proof conclusive of its necessity and its advantage to the whole United States. 

Beet culture, however, cannot be learned in a single season. It is high farming, in- 
tensive horticulture, like the market gardening near our great cities, which is the result of 
fifty years of experience. Under the best management it takes from two to four seasons 
for the farmers in any locality to learn how to grow beets to the best advantage. Until 
this is done, the sugar factory is not assured of an abundant supply of beets of proper 
qualitj\ Meanwhile the immense investment is at a risk— from $350,000 upward in each 
factory, and at best the factories can run only 100 or 150 days during the year. Experi- 
ence in this country has demonstrated that where the industry has survived this first 
stage, it has in every case become well established, to the satisfaction and profit of the 
farraers, laborers, railroads and capitalists interested in the business. 

And since the world's production of beet root sugar has increased from about 
2,500,000 long tons in 1884 to almost double that quantity as the average since 1892, the 
general success of this industry is no longer questioned by any well-informed person. 
Indeed, nearly two-thirds of the world's consumption of sugar in 1898 came from beets. 



CHAPTER II. 

DOMESTIC SUGAR VS. "EXPANSION. 

Nothing less than immediate, unconditional annexation of Porto Rico, Cuba and 
the Philippines and their admission to the Union as territories, with all the privileges 
of interstate free trade, irrespective of their form of government! This demand comes 
from Spanish property holders on these islands, and from a small but powerful coterie in 
this country that seeks to monopolize the cheap labor and marvelous productiveness of 
the tropics. Whether or not this demand is generally joined in by the so-called "expan- 
sionists," or "imperialists," those elements of the body politic are being industriously but 
Stealthily "worked" in the interest of this scheme. 

WHAT IS THERE IN IT FOR THE ANNEXATIONISTS? 

By remission of duties they would make an extra profit of $30 to nearly $40 on 
every ton of sugar, $5 to $8 on every pound of cigars, $1.50 on every pound of wrapper 
tobacco, 35 cents on every pound of filler tobacco, $25 to $40 on every ton of rice and pro- 
portional extra profits on all early or tropical fruits and vegetables. 

Because of the cheapness of production with tropical climate and labor, the profits 
of the business under free admission to this market would be quite "beyond the dreams 
of avarice." These crops and industries here in the United States would of course be 
ruined by such competition. 

The inability of the domestic grower of beets and cane and of the manufacturer of 
sugar therefrom to compete with the tropics (at least for many years) is shown by the 
following comparative exhibit, based on official data and gold values: 

United West East 

States Indies Indies Hawaii 

Yield of sugar per acre, tons 1^/4 ^Vz 2% 4 

Cost of sugar per ton $75 $40 $20 $35 

This is a fair mean under average conditions, though the yield for the United 
States may be criticised as too high and the cost as too low. On the other hand, experts 
will claim that the tropics can produce more sugar per acre and at less cost. 

Quite likely the latter is true, for only on this basis can an explanation be found 
for the momentous increase in imports into the United States of sugar produced by the 
yellow races — from 250,000 tons in '92 to 600,000 tons per year. And this while Cuba's 
industry was almost prostrated by war! 

In Egypt alone, over $50,000,000 have been invested in cane sugar houses and 
plantations within the past few years, mostly English money, at vast profit, owing to 
cheap fellah labor and great productiveness of soil under irrigation. Vast projects for 
further extensions are under way in Egypt and other parts of Africa. 

The enormous profits in the Sandwich Islands are due in part to the marvelous pro- 
ductivity of Hawaiian plantations. The Ewa boasts of having produced an average of 
8% tons of raw sugar per acre in 1896, or four times the largest yield ever reported from 
Louisiana cane or California beets. Reports of the Ewa, Hutchinson and other planta- 
tions give the cost of production at from 1% to 2 cents per lb, compared with 3 and 4 

(7) 



8 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

cents as the cost of making raw sugar from cane in Louisiana or beets in California or 
New York after the industry is well established. The enormous increase in the Hawaiian 
sugar industry, the immense plantations that are being developed and tne preparations 
now on to double and triple the sugar output of those islands, are now matters of com- 
mon notoriety, that have already caused a saturnalia of speculation. 

Cuba has practically unlimited possibilities for sugar production. Porto Rico, 
tiiough comparatively small in area, can, on a conservative estimate, produce almost as 
much as the present total yearly production of sugar in the United States! The Philip- 
pines possess sugar potentialities of unknown extent. i 

Much the same may be said of the tropical production of tobacco, rice, fruits, vege- 
tables 

rnOTECTION FOB THE AMERICAN FARMER AND LABORER, 

for the grower of sugar beets and sugar cane, against such competition will be necessary 
for some years to come. Every legitimate argument for the protection idea applies to 
this demand. None will undertake to gainsay this statement. 

The battle for protection has waged these many years, during which the farmer has 
been more or less skeptical of its benefits to him. But irrespective of politics, the farmer 
(led by the Patrons of Husbandry) has come to agree that so long as there is a tariff he 
•wants as much as the other fellow. And since only duties that directly benefit the farmer 
are those on agricultural produce imported, because not yet grown here sufficiently to 
supply the market, on such produce the farmer wants such protection equally with the 
manufacturer. 

Now, if Congress overthrows such protection by admitting free sugar, tobacco, fruits, 
vegetables, rice, etc., besides adding to direct taxes, while at the same time continuing 
the manufacturers' protection, let no one be surprised if the farmers and working people 
vote in 1900 or 1904 to pitch the custom houses into the sea! 

If there is to be any protection, the farmer wants whatever will benefit him. If 
there is to be free trade, then the farmer wants "freedom" for all. Of course the loss of 
revenue that free trade would involve would have to be made good by a federal 
income tax. 

THE ENGLISH TARIFF APPLIES TO COLONIAL EQUALLY WITH FOREIGN PRODUCE. 

The American farmer is perfectly right in this position, whatever are the relations 
ot the United States to the tropics. Even England imposes the same duties on imports 
from her colonies— tea, coffee, tobacco, liquors, etc.— as from other countries. She gets 
one-fifth to one-fourth of her revenue from this source. 

Now the whole imperialistic idea in the United States to-day rests on the claim 
that the United States Congress has ample powers to apply different tariff rates, other 
taxes and other forms of government in its dependencies in the tropics than are made 
mandatory within this union of states by the federal constitution. 

LOSS OF REVENUE. 

To admit tropical produce duty free would speedily sacriflce upward of $100,000,000 
of tariff duties yearly. The $50,000,000 annually paid in duties on imported sugar and 
$20,000,000 on imported cigar-leaf tobacco (Table E, appendix) would largely go into the 
pockets of plantation and manufacturing syndicates in Cuba and the Philippines. 

Revenue lost by the free admission of other tropical produce would go far to make 
up a total yearly sacrifice of $100,000,000. For it must be borne in mind that, with such 



THE BEET SUGAR IN"DFSTRY. 9 

an enormous indirect bounty, production in the tropics would be vastly stimulated, and 
those regions would supply this market with millions of dollars' worth of produce and 
materials now obtained from other countries. 

INCREASED TAXATION AND NEW TAXES. 

There would naturally be a constant ratio of increase in such loss of tariff revenue 
on tropical production. Of course this loss of $100,000,000 in the customs would have 
to be made good by increased direct taxation of our people here at home. 

The government expenditures incident to the war of 1898 and a policy of "expan- 
sion" will extend the annual expenditure of 1890 to '96 by a sum variously estimated at 
from $100,000,000 to $300,000,000 yearly. It is easy to see how, with loss of revenue inci- 
dent to tropical free trade, taxes are likely to be increased by fully $250,000,000 annually. 

This statement is not at all extravagant, in view of the proposed larger army, 
v/hich alone is estimated to cost $90,000,000 a year by its author (Mr. Hull), and $150,000- 
000 by the minority of the House committee on military affairs. If the army costs 
$120,000,000 a year, it will equal what France and Germany each pay for an army five 
times as large. Besides this, the United States is paying out $150,000,000 yearly for 
pensions. 

With decreasing imports and increasing expenses, surely this is no time to sacrifice 
the customs revenue. Indeed, a revenue tarilf on certain articles now admitted free of 
duty, may be necessary. 

TO SACRIFICE THE AMERICAN FARMER 

for the benefit of colonial syndicates and Spanish real estate owners in the tropics is 
too preposterous to be seriously entertained for a moment. Yet it is the price demanded 
by certain annexationists. They bitterly resent the idea that the United States can 
impose duties on produce from the Philippines or Porto Rico after those islands have 
been ceded to the United States, but boldly demand free trade. 

This is not the place to consider the various suggestions that have been made 
concerning the relations of the United States to the East and West Indies. But true it 
is that in an economic sense the issue is mainly agricultural. The farmer is the man 
whose business will be hurt the worst by annexation. The farmer is the man who, 
already bearing an undue proportion of the taxes, will be loaded down still more by the 
proposed additional taxes of .$250,000,000 yearly. To rob him of his best market, to 
destroy his most profitable crops, to annihilate the sugar industry that means millions 
for a new and money-making crop, and then to pile more taxes onto him — no! Amer- 
ican farmers will not for a moment submit to any such proposition. No political party 
laas yet indorsed such an outrageous plan. The president is firmly against it if his advic* 
about Cuba is to be taken at what he says. 

INDUSTRIES TO BE HURT BY ABSORPTION. 

The best things in agriculture to-day in the United States are the specialties that 
free trade with the tropics would knock out. That policy would permanently blight Flor- 
ida and almost annihilate her agricultural industries, making Florida only a way sta- 
tion to the tropics. It would seriously compete with the important industry of growing 
early fruits and vegetables, both in southern and northern states. It would probably 
obliterate cigar leaf tobacco culture in New En^and, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
Wisconsin, Florida and Texas. It would transfer to Ponce, Santiago, Havana and Manila 
the vast cigar-manufacturing industry of the United States, whose skilled labor and mil- 
lions upon millions of capital could not compete with labor at one-fourth our wages 



16 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

working on tropical leaf. The extent to which the vast semi-tropic fruit industry of 
the south, southwest and Pacific coast would be injured by free trade with the East and 
West Indies is self-evident. The fruits of the northern belt would also be affected. 

The production of sugar in the United States, already given a hard blow by the 
annexation of Hawaii, would be most seriously interfered with. In fact, sugar raised by 
the yellow and black labor of the East and West Indies, if admitted duty free, would prob- 
ably annihilate our domestic sugar-producing industry. Louisiana and Texas alone can 
produce cane sugar enough to supply the whole country. Beets for the manufacture of 
sugar are now being grown with wonderful success in every state and territory from 
New York and Virginia to the Pacific. Such factories as are already established for 
the manufacture of beet sugar are doing splendidly over the Spanish war. Millions of 
capital are now ready to embark in numerous beet sugar enterprises in twenty states 
the moment Congress declares against free sugar from the tropics. 

Thousands upon thousands of farmers in the sugar-beet belt are eager to grow all 
the beets needed to supply this country with all the sugar it consumes. Farmers realize 
that at $4 to $6 per ton, sugar beets afford the new and profitable crop they so much 
need. From both the agricultural and manufacturing standpoints, the beet-sugar indus- 
try in the United States is way beyond the experimental stage, and with a continuance 
of the present federal policy beet sugar offers one of the safest and most profitable 
investments for capital, agriculture and labor. And this in face of the fact that the aver- 
age annual wholesale price of granulated sugar fell from 7.6c per pound in 1889 to iy^o 
in 1897, while to-day sugar is cheaper than ever before. 

SrOAB BEETS A PKOFITABLE CKOP. 

An acre of corn at the west, yielding 40 bushels of grain worth 15c per bushel, will 
buy something more than 100 lbs of granulated sugar at the grocery store. That same acre 
of land devoted to sugar beets will produce 2,000 to 3,000 lbs of refined sugar, like the 
finest white sugar you can buy. The corn under such conditions returns about $6 per 
acre for all the labor and capital invested in that crop. Sugar beets yield $25 to $50 per 
acre, and while they require far more labor, they pay for it and leave a net profit of $10 
to $25 per acre, which is handsome compared to the meager returns from corn, wheat, 
oats, etc. 

SUGAR AND THE MONETARY PROBLEM. 

The country has been convulsed over the proposition of free silver coinage at 16 to 1. 
The most ardent advocates ot that policy have not proposed to coin more than 100,000.000 
silver dollars per year. Now without discussing the proif and cons of the silver question, 
no one will deny the benefits that would accrue by keeping at home the 100,000,000 of 
(gold standard) dollars that are sent out of the country each year for sugar. If this 
sugar is all paid for in money (instead of partly in merchandise), keeping at home this 
vast sum would infiate our per capita circulation nearly $1.50 each year or $15 in ten 
years, and in fifteen years it would double our present per capita circulation. Certainly 
it would help to solve the currency problem to keep at home the money that now goes 
abroad for sugar. 

THE CASE IN A NUTSHELL. 

The fact is that, after having given freely of our blood and treasure to drive out 
their Castilian oppressors, Spanish proprietors in the East and West Indies now seek 
a yearly bonus of untold millions from their deliverers. And certain combinations in the 
domestic sugar, tobacco, trucking and fruit trades have entered into an unholy alii- 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. U 

Ence to this end. So long as their enormous profits are sure, they don't care if thereby 
vast and promising domestic industries are destroyed, and $250,000,000 a yt,rr new taxes 
are piled upon the American tarmer and people. History fails to reveal so shameless a 
conspiracy of pelf at the national expense. Its success would cause a moral decline and 
undermining of the basic principles of government that bode far worse for the republic 
than the sacrifice of men and money in the tropics and of material prosperity at home 
that this nefarious plan would involve. 

NO COMPENSATING ADVANTAGES OF IMPORTANCE 

have yet been demonstrated for such a result. It is probable that exports of certain 
manufactures from the United States to the tropics would be somewhat increased. It 
is true also that such an impetus to tropical sugar would greatly enlarge the demand for 
sugar machinery, etc., in those regions, but the whole world would compete in furnish- 
ing this machinery. Even if the United States furnished it all, the businese thus obtained 
would not equal the volume of trade that would be created by building and equipping the 
nearly 1,000 factories (at an expense of $300,000,000) needed to supply the domestic con- 
tinental market with sugar from crops grown by American farmers. 

It is also claimed that such free trade with the tropics would vastly increase the 
export of cereals, meats and dairy product? from the United States to those sections. 
Experience emphasizes the error of this hypothesis. The productiveness of the tropics 
is so liberal that the masses there do not require to import large quantities of food 
products, nor have they the ability to pay for such products. Experience under the 
reciprocity features of the McKinley tariff of 1890 showed how small was the increase 
in the market for American grains and meats in the West Indies, compared to Great 
Britain and Europe. 

Nor is there much force to the argument that free tropical or colonial sugar would 
materially reduce prices to consumers in this country. It might for a short time, or just 
long enough to kill the domestic industry, but that accomplished it would be compara- 
tively easy for the sugar trust (which is back of this annexation scheme) to control the 
supply and again force up prices. It must be remembered that the price of sugar at the 
present time is just about what it was under the free sugar McKinley tariff, with its 
bounty of 2c per lb to domestic producers. The present price of sugar is nearly 50 per 
cent, less than during the ninth decade. Sugar is as cheap here as in England, while it 
costs our consumers only about 5c per lb compared to 7 to 14c in Europe. 

IN CONCLUSION. 

There appear to be no valid reasons for sacrificing the interests of domestic sugar 
producers. There is every reason for maintaining the present tariff against all imported 
sugar from wherever it may come, for at least ten years. 

American agriculture and labor believe the American Congress will do just this, the 
American people will back up such a policy, and the early future will vindicate its 
wisdoiQ. 




GENERAL VIEW OF THE BUILDINGS. 




A. GLIMPSE INTO ONE OF THE INTERIORS 



The first New York Beet Sngar Oompanv's establishment at Rome. N. Y. Main liuilding 150x50 feet, 
l^ee stories ; another, one story, same size ; a tliinl is 140x120 feet, boiler-room 00x80. Equipment from 
afcandoned factory at Farnham." Quebec. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE HAWAIIAN IMPOSITION. 

Not content with securing the annexation of the Sandwich Islands under false pre- 
ttnses, the coterie of cane sugar planters who control Hawaii now seek further special 
advantages at the expense of the American people and of the domestic taxpayer. 

I use the term "false pretenses" advisedly. It was persistently represented by the 
Hawaiian sugar monopoly that no further increase in the production of sugar was pos- 
sible in those islands. So adroitly was this point argued, that even the Honorable 
Secretary of Agriculture was led to indorse it, and it was then believed by every Senator 
and Representative who finally voted for annexation under the stress of war, which was 
also unduly magnified. 

IT WAS ALSO FALSELY REPRESENTED 

that, though sugar cane had of late years been grown only by coolie labor under con- 
tract, the planters would abolish the contract or slave system if the islands were 
annexed, and would hold themselves amenable to the labor laws of the United States. 
To give color to this claim, a bill to prohibit importation of coolies was before the 
Hawaiian legislature in the spring of 1898. It was defeated, of course, as it was meant 
to be. The facts in the case were succinctly set forth in the San Francisco Chronicle 
for April 2, 1898, as follows: 

CONTRACT LAW THEIR SALVATION — PLANTERS SAT ITS ABOLISHMENT WOULD MEAN 

THEIR RUIN. 

HONOLULU, March 24. — The sugar planters are up in arms against a bill now 
pending in the Legislature providing for the abolishment of the labor contract system 
now in vogue, by which a laborer who deserts from a plantation can be arrested and 
thrown into jail until he is willing to return to his work and have all costs of his capture 
and detention assessed against him. The planters say that under the present condition 
the abolishment of the penal contract law would mean the utter ruin of every plantation 
on the islands. At a meeting of a committee representing the Planters' Association and 
the House Committee, to which the bill was referred, such men as John H. Hackfield, 
W. G. Irwin, F. M. Swansey, C. Bolte and H. Renjes were present, and all expressed the 
opinion that the passage of the bill would deal a death blow to the sugar industry. 

The planters explained that the laborers brought to Hawaii are picked from the 
lowest classes in Japan. It is necessary to advance from $130 to $150 to each laborer 
to get him here. If, when he arrives he cannot be held to his contract, the plantation 
not only loses the man, but the money invested in him. 

The new ruling of the Cabinet regarding the employment of European labor, the 
planters said, would secure immigration of white labor that, in a few years, would 
entirely replace the Asiatics on the plantations. 

This proposition to abolish the coolie ^^ystem was therefore a false representation 
for political effect upon Congress and the American people. At the very time it was 
being advanced at Washington, the Honolulu government was granting special licenses 
to the planters to import Japanese and Chinese coolies under contract. The new ruling, 
to encourage European labor, was another false representation, at least in effect, a9 

(13) 



Ji THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

subsequent importations of labor have been 90 or 95 per cent. Japanese and Chinese 
coolies. 

BUT THIS DELIBERATE BAD FAITH IS NOT ATX. 

The government of the islands, which is admittedly merely holding over until 
Congress provides a permanent form of administration, has been diligently granting 
additional licenses to import coolies under contracts. These contracts run from three lo 
five years. It is now brazenly asserted in official circles at Honolulu that, even if the 
United States government applies its alien-contract laws to Hawaii, the coolies who 
are now being rushed into the islands will be compelled to serve out their time. Hono- 
lulu advices dated October 11, 1808, and published in the American newspapers, reported 
the arrival of 2,000 coolies, and it is stated that the total importations during the calen- 
dar year 1898 will exceed 10,000 coolies. 

The "hold-over" government at Honolulu has thus not only violated its moral 
obligations to Congress and the American people, but has done everything possible to 
gain added advantages for the island planters, in opposition to the laws of the United 
States. 

Still more: The Hawaiian planters now insist upon the right to continue the 
Importation of coolies. They have urged this point most emphatically upon the honor- 
able commission appointed to investigate and report a plan for administrating the 
islands. The planters have further boldly declared their purpose to maintain a lobby 
at Washington until Congress grants them the right to contract labor in perpetuity. 

History fails to record so colossal an exhibition of "gall." Granted free admis- 
sion to the United States market for 20 years, this little body of Hawaiian planters drew 
^70,000,000 in bounties from the American people's remission of duties, until they became 
the wealthiest body of like numbers in the world. Annexation now perpetuates this 
remission of duties to an amount that will probably exceed $10,000,000 next year and is 
likely to largely increase in future. The planters are thus practically freed from 
taxation to support the United States government. In addition to all these priceless 
advantages, obtained largely as a result of bad faith, the Hawaiian syndicate now 
<iemands the right to employ slave laborl 

ABl'SES AMOXG THE COOLIE SLAVES. 

The condition of these contract coolies is in many respects worse than that of slaves. 
They are paid $13 to $16 a month, less $3 to $5 per month deducted for food furnished, be- 
sides which they are given fuel, sheds to live in, and receive medical attention when sick. 
Their roofed sheds are filled with bunks. The immorality among them is most shocking. 
It cannot be even referred to in print. If the contract laborer refuses to work, the law- 
allows his owner to fine him and he is also imprisoned until he does work. These coolies 
are procured by false promises of "an easy job." Japs resent the imposition and are 
cross and anxious to better their condition. They are kept at work only by severe 
overseers and fear of losing every cent they have earned, which can be taken away from 
them by the legal system of "fines." In a word, these coolies are owned bodily by their 
employers, and are so maltreated that they seldom renew their contracts and desert at 
any opportunity. Once a coolie gets free of his contract, he returns to his native land, 
or if he stays in Hawaii, it is as a "free" laborer. The very language of the plantation 
is that of slavery, with its "contract-men" for bondman or slave, and its "free labor." 

SOME TNTEBKSTING SIDELIGHTS 

on the contract-labor system are afforded by the following verbatim report, copied from 
the Hawaiian Planters' Monthlu for December, 1897, Vol. XVI, Pages 595-6: 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 15 

"To the President and membera of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association: — 
Some time ago your committee on labor mailed to the managers of all the plantations a 
circular letter asking for information in regard to the condition of labor on their estates. 



/ 



I- 






tia ^ • 2 i - * ♦ =5 "W ■s^ V 'J T 't S i i'- 







MICHIGAN'S FIRST BEET SUGAR FACTORY. 

Property of the Michigan Sugar Co., Bay City, Bay Co., Michigan. Capacity, 350 tons of beets p«f 
day, 3,500 acres contracted for the '98 crop, and some 7,500,000 lbs. of sugar were made during its firsii 
campaign ended in December, '98. The capacity is to be doubled for '99, and 7,500 to 10,000 acres of beets 
are wanted. The building is 264x108 feet, and four beet slieds 30x300 feet, with railroad and wagon 
tracks to each slied. 

A series of 19 questions were put to each, with request that they answer them carefully 
and in full, they being assured that no one but one member of the committee would have 
access to their replies, and they would not be published except as a total. Replies have 
been received from all the managers but one, and the result of your committee's labor 
is embodied in the following: 

"average number of laborers employed during the year 1897. 

Contract Free 

Laborers Laborers Total 

Japanese 6,379 

Chinese 5, .518 

Portuguese 394 

Hawaiian 430 

Other nationalities 

Total 23,047 

"Supply of labor — 45 well supplied, 6 were not: 25 reported many desertions, 21 
none, 5 a few; nationality giving trouble — Japanese, a few reported Chinese; contracts 
expiring during year 2,235, as a rule contract men did not renew; 23 planters had dilii- 
culty in securing free labor, 28 had none. Rate of wages — 7 paid $13 per month, 6 paid 
$14, 20 paifi $15 to $15.50, 8 paid $16; Hawaiians were paid $17 and up, Portuguese $18 and 
upAvard.'' 





av. no. 


5,371 


11,750 


1,986 


7,504 


1.562 


1,956 


988 


1,418 




419 



IQ THE SUGAR INDUSTET. 

From the foregoing, observe that Japanese furnished a little over one-half the 
sugar labor, Chinese about one-third, balance Portuguese one-sixth, with Hawaiians, 
South Sea Islanders and a few other nationalities. 

AN UN-AMERICAN OLIGARCHY. 

Even the San Francisco journal that ordinarily favored annexation, cannot stand 
this, but says: 

"But the planters, having got used to coolies, want to keep them. That 
is natural enough, but it is not a consideration that appeals to people over here. Nor 
will Americans sympathize with their aspiration to maintain Hawaii as a rich man's 
paradise. The manner in which this is done is to use coolies, not merely in the cane 
fields, but In the trades and small retail enterprises to crowd out white men who might, 
if permitted to stay, outvote the sugar party in the affairs of the islands, secure the gov- 
ernment, amend the labor laws, impose a fair rate of taxation upon the sugar estates 
and throw open the public domain. 

"In their opposing attitude the Hawaiian planters resemble their prototypes, the 
slave-holding aristocracy of the south. They have no use for "poor white trash." Given 
their baronial acres, tilled by coolies and just enough white men to do their police work 
for them, and they are content. So long as the coolies are in hand they can keep the 
obstreperous and independent white at a distance. If he comes as a laborer he is con- 
fronted with a glutted muscle market; if he comes as an artisan, a skilled Japanese is 
set up in the same business to underbid him; if he wants to be a merchant, an Asiatic 
with planter backing drives him away. This is the Hawaiian fashion of managing 
things, but it is not American style, and we do not believe that Congress will engraft it 
upon the American system. 

"The planters can till their fields with white labor under the profit-dividing sys- 
tem now being tried near Honolulu and still make fortunes. They can also do it by 
employing white farm hands directly, and for the general good of Hawaii they should 
be compelled to take some such course by the passage of laws discriminating against 
Asiatic labor in favor of the kind employed in this country. Otherwise Hawaii will be 
an anachronism in the American form of government." 

Certainly, with all its advantages, natural and artificial, there is no special cir- 
cumstance to justify Congress in perpetuating the contract-labor system on Hawaii. 



/•^X 



,¥? 









PART TWO. 



THE CANE Sugar Industry. 



BY PROF. W. C STUBBS, 



Director Louisiana sugar experiment station at Audubon Park, New Orleans ; director Louisiana state 
experiment station at Baton Rouge; director of the Nortli Louisiana experiment station at Cal- 
houn, etc., etc. 



Note.— This chapter is designed to give a clear insight into this great industry at the South, but elaborate details ol 
culture and management are omitted, because the industry is an old established one, and these matters are gener- 
ally known to those now engaged in or likely to enter into the cane sugar industry. Keprinted from " Sugar, a New 
and Profitable Industry." 





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PART TWO. 



The Cane Sugar industry. 




CHARLES A. FARWELL, 
First vice president American Sugar Growers' Society, 
President United States Cane Planters' Association, 
New Orleans, La. Having been in the snsar business 
all his life, and possessing the confidence of the whole 
sugar interests of the South, Mr. Farwell is a type of 
the men who are doing so much to develop this and 
other great industries In the South and throughout 
the country. 




BRIEF HISTORY of thia 
industry is given on Page 
12, from which it will be 
seen that it is a very old 
industry, although its prin- 
cipal development dates from about 1885. 
Cane was originally introduced into Lou- 
isiana by the Jesuits from San Domingo 
in 1757, but the ribbon cane now generally 
planted was introduced via Georgia from 
the island of St Eustatius. There are 
many varieties of cane and these are be- 
ing daily increased by additions obtained 
from the planting of the true seed of the 
cane. The Lovtisiana sugar experiment 
station at Audubon park, New Orleans, 
is experimenting with over 100 varieties; 
of these, however, only two kinds are ni 
general use in the state— the Purple oi 
Black Java, and the Purple Striped Rib- 
bon cane. A few planters grow a white 
variety known as the Light Java. These 
varieties were introduced about the year 
1825 and have become so thoroughly ac- 
climated to our soil and climate that they 
are now almost universally used. 



THE AREA CAPABLE OF GROWING 
SUGAR CANE 

is far larger than has been supposed. The 
sugar cane belt can be extended along the Gulf coast from a point near Savannah, 
Ga, running almost parallel to the coast line, to the northern extremity of Louisiana 
and on through Texas to the Rio Grande river. If irrigation could be secured, a por- 
tion of Arizona and New Mexico could also be utilized for this crop. 

The area of cane in Louisiana for 1896-7 is about 300,000 acres. This amount can 



*0 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

©e increased tenfold. In fact, I may almost say, without fear of contradiction, that 
there is hardly an acre in Louisiana that is not available for sugar cane under intelli- 
gent culture. 

PECULIARITY OF THE CROP. 

Cane culture has one peculiar feature, not possessed by hardly any other plant 
cultivated in the United States. The large amount of cane necessary to plant an acre 
(from four to six tons) makes it necessary to go slowly in the establishment of a large 
plantation. The usual method is to buy a carload or two of cane, plant a few acres 
and then use the entire crop of the next year in planting a larger acreage, and then 
the third year the entire crop in planting the plantation. In this way, it may be said 
to require three years to get into the cane culture upon a full scale. For this reason, 
the increasing and decreasing of a cane crop must be done gradually, and is unlike 
the beets, which can be increased or decreased annually at the will of the planter. 

PRESENT OBSTACLES TO THE CANE INDUSTRY. 

There is no doubt the area of cane will be greatly extended in the near future if 
we can receive substantial assurances of a permanent support against foreign compe- 
tition. At present, capitalists hesitate to invest in an industry the prices of whose 
product are more or less influenced by a changeable congress at Washington. A per- 
manent tariff is desired, in order that we may know and publish to the world what 
the profits will be under such a system. Having determined the profits, it will be 
easy (if the profits be remunerative), to secure capital to develop the large areas 
adaptable to the sugar cane. 

THE GREAT TROUBLE IN THE SUGAR CANE INDUSTRY 

is the large cost of the machinery necessary to economically manoifacture the cane. We 
have reached that point in the development of this industry, that the larger the fac- 
tory the more economical the manufacture of cane into sugar. There seems to be no 
limit in the expansion of the sugarhouse. We have several in this state that are now 
working as high as from 1000 to 1500 tons of cane per day. This gives a factory the 
capacity of working 60,000 to 70,000 tons of cane in a season and some are able to work 
up even 100, 000 tons. 

The clientele attached to such a sugarhouse is but little larger or more expen- 
sive than one for a sugarhouse taking ofE 200 to 300 tons per day. In these days of 
close competition and small profit, the large sugarhouse will survive, while the small 
one must inevitably surrender. Hence, in establishing central factories, it is now 
the purpose to build as large as possible so as to make the manufacturing expense of 
cane as low as possible per ton. 

To build and equip such a factory as this requires hundreds of thousands of dol- 
lars. These factories run only sixty to ninety days in a year, hence requiring the 
highest intelligence in every department to make the profit in these sixty or ninety 
days necessary to pay good interest upon the investment. The running of tliis sugar- 
house machinery night and day, from start to finish, often hurried by the advent of 
a disastrous frost, causes a wear and tear which would not occur if it could be kept 
running regularly throughout the year, and at a regular rate of speed. 

Moreover, while the sugarhouse is idle during nine or ten months of the year, 
the outfit depreciates in value, for idleness may be as injurious to machinery as wear 




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22 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

and tear. Hence the depreciation account of a sugarhouse is a very large item. It 
will be seen from this how different this industry is from running a refinery on raw 
sugar the year through, and how different it is from other kinds of manufacturing 

THE SOIL UEST ADAPTED TO SUGAR CAKE -i 

is a sandy loam, rich in vegetable matter. The cane does not seed, and since "we 
grow it exclusively for ?ugar, the draft upon the soil is not heavy, provided the fod- 
der and tops, the bagasse from the mill, and the ashes from the sugarhouse, are all 
carefully returned to the soil. But to make a crop profitable, a large amount of ton- 
nage must be secured. It is nothing unusual to secure a crop of 40 to 45 tons of 
stripped cane per acre (though 20 tons is a fair average over a large area). Forty 
tons means fully 70 tons of green matter growing upon one acre of land; and while 
the per cent of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash is comparatively small, the 
aggregate of these three ingredients removed from the soil by such a crop is large. 

The cane seems to be specially adapted to soils of an alluvial character on account 
of the tendency of these soils to make weed. The "raging fertility" of such soil* 
has to be dampened by the growth of just such crops as sugar cane, which is a 
gigantic grass, before it can be adapted to the growth of cereals or other crops raised 
exclusively for the seed. Hence, the alluvial lands of Louisiana are peculiarly and 
singularly adapted to the cultivation of cane. 

THE SOIL IS USUALLY PREPARED 

in the following manner : Thoroughly broken with two to four horse plows, thrown 
up in beds six to seven feet in width, the midales deeply plowed and opened, and at 
intervals of short distances, what are termed quarter drains, running at right angles 
to the rows, are cut, leading into the ditches so that excessive rainfalls may be car- 
ried off without injury to the soil. This plowing is usually done in the fall;— though 
sometimes, from necessity, it is forced into the spring. 

PLANTING. 

After the soil is well prepared, the rows are opened with a double mold board 
plow, and the canes are deposited in this furrow— two to three continuous canes along 
the whole length of the row. These canes are then cut with a cane knife to adjust 
them to the ow, and covered either with a plow, a cultivator, or with a hoe. The- 
planting is done any time between September and April. It is usually done by hand, 
though we have one or two cane-planting machines that have been experimenting in 
this line. After the cane has been planted, from each joint where is an "eye," 
springs a sprout. To assist this sprout in reaching the surface early in the spring, 
it is customary to scrape off the excess of dirt which was placed on the cane in the 
fall or early spring in order to protect it against the cold. 

CULTURE. 

After the cane has obtained a "stand," it is then cultivated, largely after the 
order of corn, care being taken to preserve always the cane upon a ridge so that the 
excessive rainfalls of summer may be easily disposed of. It is usually laid by in June 




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24 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

or early in July. After "lay by," the cane grows very rapidly, particularly if fre- 
quent showers at short intervals conspire with warm weather. 

After the cane is planted we usually get two crops, sometimes three, from the 
same planting. The first crop is usually termed the "plant caue," and the second 
and third "first stubble" or rattoons. Cane is planted in this state so as to secure a 
continuous stand at maturity of from three to five stalks to the running foot. The 
stalks usually weigh from 2 to 4 lbs apiece. Like all grasses, cane tillers or suckers 
very greatly, and during the summer months many of these suckers or tillers perish. 
Hence the necessity of not planting cane too thick or too thin. If planted thickly, it 
will exhaust its energies in trying to sucker — a natural quality which seems to be exer- 
cised. If planted too thinly, the field will be filled at harvest with a large proportion 
of immature suckers, low in sugar. 

HARVESTING. 

In Louisiana the general harvest begins in October and lasts till January. In trop- 
ical countries grinding does not begin before January and usually lasts till June or 
July. In Louisiana, on account of the severity of our winter, cane must be harvested 
in the fall and winter or be killed. It is therefore only about eight or nine months 
old when worked in the sugarhouse. In tropical countries it is frequently fifteen 
and sometimes eighteen months old when harvested. Hence the superiority of tropic- 
al canes in sucrose over those grown in the southern part of this country. 

In the latitude of southern Louisiana, we make a crop every year, while in the 
tropics only two crops are made in three years. Our less yield per acre than in the 
tropics is therefore somewhat made up. But, per contra, in the tropics, they only 
plant cane once in four to six years, while we must plant every other year. 

ROTATION OF CROPS. 

In Louisiana the regular rotation of cane is as follows: Cane, two or three years, 
and then followed with corn, sown broadcast at lay by with cowpeas (usually the clay 
variety), and the entire mass of vines and stalks turned under in August or Septeiri- 
ber, and replanted in cane. 

HOW TO START THE CANE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

A community can experiment to demonstrate what it can do with sugar cane in 
this way : 

Let each individual plant sugar cane on a small area and manufacture it on a 
small scale, with horse mills and open evaporators, according to the old-fashioned sys- 
tem. In this way, the saccharine content of their cane and the average available 
tonnage per acre can be established. Then, they can present to the commercial world 
a valid argument to enlist capital in a factory. The average yield being say 20 tons 
per acre, 5000 acres would be required to furnish the maximum crop of 100,000 tons 
that can be worked up in a single season by a modern factory of large size. Certainly 
nothing less than 2500 acres under cane each year would answer for a modern 
factory. 

The Louisiana experiment station at Baton Rouge has published a bulletin (No. 
8) giving full directions about sugar making on a small scale, which also gives direc- 




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26 



THE SUGAri INDUSTRY. 



tions for culture of the cane in a small way. A copy of it will be sent free to any. 
one who applies to Baton Kouge for it in person or by mail. 

The difficulties in securing a central factory for working up sugar cane are 
dependent entirely upon the slowness with which sugar cane plantations can be 
established. Cane plantations must be established before the factory will be secured, 
and farmers are slow to establish a crop which requires three years of work and 
patience, unless they have "an assurance doubly assured" of a factory. 

DESCRIPTION OF MANUFACTURE. 

Cane is hauled from the field and dumped alongside a moving platform, whicJa 





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,,„«ii..'.."' 



SUGARHOUSE ON ADELINE PLANTATION, FRANKLIN, LA. 

Tl)is plant Is owned and operated by the Oxnard family, who are also interested in the beet sugar 
factories at Norfolk and Grantl Island, Nebraska, and Chino, California. Like the latter plant, the 
Adeline sugarhouse has all modern improvements. This is the only instance we know of in the 
United States in which the comparative merits of the cane and beet have been closely compared for 
a series of yeais. 

conveys it to the mill, and drops it, end on, into a chute which abuts upon the first 
mill— generally a three-roller mi'l, giving two pressures. Thence a conveyor takes 
the crushed cane to a second mill, where it gets a final squeezing and is ejected in a 
pretty dry state (called "bagasse"). This is conveyed by a third carrier to the 
bagasse furnace, wherein it is consumed as fuel and supplies steam power and 
steam heat to the sugar house. 

Or, the cane may be cut up into small pieces by specially designed knives and 
carried into large cast-iron cells known as diffusers. Here they are treated by the 
diffusion process, as described later on in the chapter on manufacture of sugar from 
beets. 

The juice, as it runs from the mill, is strained and limed and passes into the clari- 
fiers, where the temperature is raised and the lighter impurities come to the surface 



ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SUGAR. 



27 



and are skimmed off, while tlie heavier go to the bottom, and the clear juice is drawn 
ofi and sent to the boiling-down apparatus, double or triple effect. Here it is con- 
centrated into a syrup, again treated to 
remove impurities, and then goes to the 
vacuum pan, where it is boiled to grain. 
The contents of the pan are then sent to 
the centrifugal machines, which separate 
the sugar from the molasses, and the 
barreling of the sugar completes the 
cycle of operations. 

A second crop of crystals, of lower 
grade, is made from this molasses, and 
its molasses is the final by-product. The 
scums and settlings are passed through 
filter presses and quite a quantity of 
sugar recovered from them. 

A sugarhouse turning out one ton 
of sugar per hour will require about 
90 men, skilled and unskilled, from the 
chemist to the trash boy. 




CANE STUBBLE DIGGER. 




CULTIVATOR FOR CANE. 



QUALITY AND GRADE OF PRODUCT. 

The product from such a modern sugarhouse is called "centrifugal" sugar, as con- 
trasted with sugar made by the old-fashioned, open-kettle process, which is known as 



28 



THE SUGAR INDUSTEY. 



"open -kettle" sugar. By the latter system, the juice of the cane is evaporated in 
four large iron kettles arranged in a line. The juice, after being sulphurized, is drawn 
into the first or Grand kettle, where it is limed, heated and the scums removed. It is 
then drawn into the second or Flambeau kettle, where it is brushed and cleaned, then 
passed to the third or Syrup kettle, where it is further brushed, thence passed into 
the Batterie, where it is reduced to the granulating point. It is then dipped out into 
coolers and run into large strainers, which allow the molasses to drain off. The 
resulting "open-kettle" sugar is then ready for the refinery, and constitutes what was 
formerly known as brown sugar, but very little of it now reaches the market until 
after it is refined. 

The commercial grades of these two kinds of sugar: Open-kettle sugars are raw 
and unrefined, the name of each grade, beginning with the lightest color, is as follows: 
—Choice, Strict Prime, Prime, Pully Pair, Good Pair, Pair, Good Common, Com- 
mon, and Inferior. 

The best grades of centrifugal sugars are almost as good in quality, appearance 
and saccharine strength as the best grades of refined sugar resulting from the refining 
processes employed in the very extensive refineries, most of which are operated by 
the "sugar trust." The best grade of centrifugal sugar is known as Plantation Granu- 
lated, and the other commercial grades are graded according to appearance, color, etc, 
as follows : Plantation Granulated, Off Granulated, Choice White, Off White, Gray 
White, Confectioners' Yellow, Choice Yellow, Prime Yellow, Off Yellow, Seconds. 




VACUUM PAN, 
At the Lehi, Utah, beet sugar factory. 



PART THREE. 



The Beet Sugar industry. 

Prior to the close of J896. 



Embodying the actual results of all American beet sugar factories, the methods of the most successf (A 

practical beet growers in all parts of America, and the lessons acquired by the scientific 

work of the United States Department of Agriculture (Dr. Harvey W. 

Wiley, Chief of Division of Chemistry), and of the various 

State agricultural experiment stations. 



BY HERBERT MYRICK. 



PART THREE. 



THE Beet Sugar Industry. 



CHAPTER I. 

WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED IN AMERICA. 

The first efforts toward producing sugar from the beet in this country were made 
near Philadelphia in 1830, without success. Eight years afterward, David L. Child 

made a crude attempt at Northampton, 
Mass, the beets averaging 6 per cent, of 
sugar. In 1863 the Gennert Brothers, from 
Germany, established a factory at Chats- 
worth, Illinois, a location illy chosen, it is 
said, in soil and climate. After struggling 
for several years, the factory was removed 
to Freeport, 111, and later to Black Hawk, 
Sauk county. Wis, where it was started as 
a co-operative enterprise. From Black 
Hawk a portion of the machinery, at least, 
was reiToioved to California. In all of the 
latter instances,- there was more or less 
inefficiency in factory management, but the 
chief difficulty was the lack of interest on 
the part of farmers, and their failure to 
furnish sufficient beets. The quality of the 
beets was also very inferior. Even in 
California's early days, it was several years 
before they learned the proper stage of 
maturity at which to harvest the crop. 
Onlv an elaborate account of all these early 
efforts could give an insight into the trials 
and disappointments they involved, but 
the lessons of this bitter and costly ex- 
perience have been made the most of, and 
paved the way for the successes of the past 
half-dozen years. We should not forget 
About 1871 Messrs Bonesteel & Otto erected 
a small factory at Fond du Lac, which, after making some sugar, was dismantled and 




FOUNDER OF AMERICA'S BEET-SUGAR 
INDUSTRY. 

Thls,if5not too much to say of Mr Henry T. Oxiiarfl, 
president of the l>eet-su!jar companies oi)eratins facto- 
ries at Norfolk, Graiifl Island and Chhio. He orsraiiized 
the American Beet Smiar Manufacturers' Association, 
and has been the head and front of the development of 
the beet-su^'ar industry in the United States as a com- 
mercial enterprise. See pages 34-35. 

to honor the pioneers in this industry, 



32 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



the machinery removed to California. Late in the '70's, beet-sugar factories were 
established at Portland, Me, Franklin, Mass, one in New Jersey, and another in Dela- 
ware. In California, the Alvarado plant was 
established in 1870, and one at Sacramento in 
1873, and one a distance below that city at 
Istleton in 1874 or '75. The two latter soon 
failed, and an attempt at Los Angeles, along in 
1878-9, never amounted to anything. 

ALL THESE EARLY ATTEMPTS FAILED 

for the reasons stated on Page 12 and also be- 
cause at that time other crops were so much 
more profitable that farmers would not grow 
beets, in the culture of which they were wholly 
ignorant. The then high-priced lands of the 
east, with the expensive manuring and labor 
involved in the crop, did not make sugar beets 
profitable with farmers. The factories, in the 
east at least, were not located so as to secure a 
large supply of beets from the immediate 
neighborhood, and high freights cut down the 
farmers' returns. The factories were compar- 
atively small, and with a limited supply of beets 
of uneven or inferior quality, their operating 
expenses left no margin of profit. 

Later, attempts were made to establish the 
industry in Canada, and a factory was established 
at Berthierville, Quebec, and another at Parn- 
ham, Quebec, but the French Canadians did 
not have sufficient enterprise to grow the beets, 
and with mismanagement of the factory, the 
industry languished in spite of a small subsidy 
from government. The Berthierville plant was 
removed to Eddy, New Mexico, in 1896, and 
the Farnham outfit to Kome, New York, in 
1897. The Dominion government encouraged 
the industry by a direct subsidy of (we believe) 
one cent per lb, but it was not continued long 
enough to overcome the indisposition of farmers 
to raise the beets, although the Farnham enter- 
prise got $44,000 from this source in the years 
1892-3, and Berthierville $41,000 in the years 
'95-6. 

AN EXCEPTION-HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE. 

The factory at Alvarado, California, started 
in 1870, is the first sugar factory which 




A TYPICAL SUGAR BEET. 

This beet was selected for Illustration herein from 
a lot of 57 tons of "mother beets" chosen for seed- 
growing purposes by the Utah Sugar Co. The 
above engravlnc is just half size. The orieinal 
beet was 13 Inches long, exclusive of an inch or 
two broken off the tip. It weighed 28 ounces and 
contained 17 % sugar, of 84 purity. For seed grow- 
ing, the top is left as shown, but for the factory, 
the butts of stems and woody matter forming the 
•val top are cut off square and clean. 



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THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTKT. 



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THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



has continued its existence to the present time. Its machinery came originally from the 
failures in Illinois and Wisconsin. The Alvarado enterprise struggled along for years, 
while the farmers were learning how to grow beets, and while the quality of beets was 
being improved. Too much credit cannot be extended to E. H. Dyer, and his son, Edward 
F. Dyer and others, for their persistent work at Alvarado. 

Dr. C. A. Goessmann, a German sugar expert, conducted the first scientific experi- 
ments in sugar beet culture at the Massachusetts Agricultural College, 1873-6. Had 
Goessmann's teachings been followed, the present condition of our American beet sugar 
industry might have been reached ten or twenty years earlier. Lewis Ware founded 
the journal, "The Sugar Beet," in 1880, having previously revived the Alvarado factory, 
was instrumental in starting the factories in Maine, Massachusetts and Delaware, has 
devoted time, brain and money to developing the industry, and deserves full credit. 

Dr. H. W. Wiley, chief of the division of chemistry. United States deoartment of 
agriculture, when in charge of the sorghum work, as early as 1884 investigated ihe sugar 




DS. 0. A. GO£SSUANN. 



IBWIS S. WABB. 



DK. H. W. WILEY. 



oeet in California and reported favorably upon it. In 1883 he urged that stations be 
established to experiment with beet, cane and sorghum, but was not allowed to carry out 
his plans until 1888-92. Since then the department has actively promoted the industry. 

The real impetus given to the beet sugar industry as a practical commercial enter- 
prise in the United States dates from the time the Oxnards took it up late in the '80's. 
After large experience in the cane sugar and sugar refining interests in the United States, 
Mr. Henry T. Oxnard made a special study of beet sugar abroad, and became convinced 
of its possibilities here. With characteristic energy, enthusiasm and ability, Mr. Oxnard 
spared neither labor nor money in conducting a grand campaign of education, in the 
course of which he has expended largely of his private fortune. He was also the organ- 
izer of the American Beet Sugar Manufacturers' Association in 1891, and as its president 
has served without salary and mainly at his own expense. Mr. Henry T. Oxnard has 
backed up his faith with impiense investments in sugar factories, by giving away many 
tons of beet seed, and is to-day the recognized head of the industry in the United 
Stalos. With the aid of his brother, James G. Oxnard (a sugar engineer of large practi- 
cal experience), James G. Hamilton and others, the favorable legislation 



36 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

of 1890 was obtained, and the great beet-sugar factories at Chino, Grand Island and 
Norfolk were built by different companies, of all of which Mr Henry T. Oxnard is 
president. During 1896-7 he has been indefatigable in political circles and at Wash- 
ington to secure a fair chance for the industry against foreign competition. He has 
now organized a construction company through which to give the full benefit of his 
experience, and of the body of trained experts associated with him, to those who 
contemplate building or operating beet-sugar factories. 

RECENT DEVELOPMENT. 

Results at Alvarado finally attracted the attention of Claus Spreckels, the Hawai- 
ian cane-sugar king. Thoroughly informed upon the beet-sugar industry in his 
native country (Germany), Mr Spreckels realized three things: (1) That it was only 
a question of time before the United States would abrogate the one-sided reciprocity 
treaty with Hawaii that was making him immensely wealthy; (2) that there was no 
reason why this country should not produce its own sugar, California offering ideal 
advantages; and (3) that in the battle for supremacy the beet is destined to win. 
With his usual keen business judgment, Mr Spreckels erected a small beet-sugar fac- 
tory at Watsonville, which turned out about 1000 tons of sugar from beets grown in 
1888. The plant was enlarged in time to profit by the McKinley bounty, and has 
gone on with uninterrupted success until it converted into sugar more than 160,000 
tons of beets grown in 1896. 

The Oxnards established the great beet-sugar factory at Chino, Cal, in time to 
work up the 1891 crop, and in the campaign of 1895 it handled 83,000 tons of beets. 
The Oxnards had the sugar factory at Grand Island, Nebraska, done in time to work 
up 4500 tons of beets grown in 1890, and it converted about 25,000 tons of the '96 crop 
of beets into sugar. The same interests built the factory at Norfolk, Nebraska, which 
worked 8000 tons in its first (1891) campaign, and upward of 50,000 tons in 1897, 

Local capital and the characteristic enterprise of certain men Jprorainent in the 
Mormon church, led to the establishment of the factory at Lehi, Utah, which handled 
nearly 10, 000 tons of beets in its first campaign (1891), and nearly 45,000 tons of the 
1896 crop. O. K. Lapham also established a small plant at Staunton, Virginia, that 
demonstrated the practicability of the industry, but was burned in 1894. The factory 
at Eddy, New Mexico, was got in operation in time to work up a few thousand tons 
of the '96 crop, and the same can be said of the new plant at Menomonee Falls, Wis- 

THE RECORD IN BRIEF. 

Such is an outline of the beet-sugar industry in America to the opening of 189'ii. 
The bounty of two cents per pound for^ fifteen years offered by the McKinley tariff, 
Aug 6, 1896, gave a great stimulus to an industry which years of extensive and costly 
experimenting had shown could be developed in this country. But before much 
could be done, progress was arrested by the Wilson tariff, Aug 28, 1894, removing the 
bounty and substituting a duty of only 40 per cent ad valorem, with constantly de- 
creasing prices, due to the unfair competition of European export-bounty-fostered 
sugars. 

As usual, it took the farmers several years to learn how to grow beets, and it was 
not until 1896 that these factories were supplied with all the beets they could possi- 




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38 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

bly work into sugar. This season was a disappointment at Chino, where the expected 
crop was considerably curtailed by drouth. At Lehi, on the other hand, too many 
beets were grown— the f;^tory could hardly work them all. We are under obligations 
to Willett & Gray for th«rifollowing. 

SUMMARY OF BE3T SUGAR PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES: 
[III tons of 2240 pounds.] 

1830, A few hundred pounds 1884, 953 tons 

1831 7, None 1885, 600 tons 

1838-9, 1,300 lbs 1886, 800 tons 

1839 62, None 1887, 255 tons 

1863-71, 300—500 tons per annum 1888, 1,910 tons 

1872, 500 tons 1889, 2,600 tons 

1873, 700 tons 1890, 2,800 tons 
1874-7, Under 100 tons per annum 1891, 5,359 tons 

1878, 200 tons 1892, 12,091 tons 

1879, 1,200 tons 1893, 20,453 tons 

1880, 500 tons 1894, 20,443 tons 
1881-2, Less tlian 500 tons 1895, 30,000 tons 
1883, 535 tons 1896, 40,000 tons 

WHAT OF THE FUTURE ? 

Wherever factories have been established, farmers are now eager to raise beets 
for them at $4 to $5 per ton. Offers have been made to grow beets for the older fac- 
tories in 1897 far in excess of their capacity. Watsonville could not accept half the 
acreage offered. In such cases, the factories contract only with those growers who 
have shown the most interest and the ability to furnish beets of the best quality. 

Mr Spreckels has under construction at Salinas City, California, what is destined 
to be the largest single beet sugar factory in the world, with a capacity of over 
300,000 tons of beets during a campaign of about 100 days, that will be ready for the 
1898 crop, and will require 25,000 acres of beets for its supply. At Alamitos, Califor- 
nia, a new factory will be ready for 1897 with a capacity of 350 tons of beets per day. 
The first New York Beet Sugar company hopes to have the machinery from the plant 
at Farnham in operation at Rome, New York, in time to handle 30,000 tons of the 
1897 crop. 

Several of the existing factories propose to enlarge. There are a number of other 
factory enterprises that are more or less organized. About 1000 communities in the 
cane and beet sugar belts are anxious to secure beet-sugar factories or cane-sugar 
houses. There is no question about the prompt and extensive development of the 
industry, if congress extends to it satisfactory assurances that the American market 
will be preserved for the American sugar producers. Without this, the business will 
stop right where it is. 

ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 

Before proceeding to give details of just how the foregoing has been accomplished 
and a full discussion of what has been learned from all past experience that may 
guide us in the future, a few elementary points should be understood. 

TECHNICAL TERMS EXPLAINED. 

Prof W. A. Henry covers this point very clearly in these words: What is meant 
by "per cent of sugar in the juice" and by co-efficient of purity? A hundred pounds 
of sugar beets contain about 95 pounds of juice. This juice not only contains sugar 



40 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

but various other substances, largely mineral matter, which are a great hindrance, 
causing serious losses of sugar during the manufacture. A hundred pounds of average 
beet juice will carry about 15 pounds of solid matter, of which twelve pounds may be 
sugar, and three pounds matter not sugar. If we divide the number of pounds of 
sugar (12) by the total pounds of solid matter (15), we get .80, which sum is called 
the co-eflScient of purity; that is, beet juice with 15 parts solids, 12 of which are 
sugar, is said to have a co-efficient of purity of 80. If the sample of juice contains 
16 parts solid matter and 12 parts sugar, as before, then the co-efficient of purity is 
only 75. 

When reducing the beet juice to make sugar, each pound of foreign matter, not 
sugar, keeps at least one pound of sugar from crystallizing. This true, we sea at once 
that the manufacturer desires beet roots not only carrying much sugar but also with 
a high co-efficient of purity. Immature beets, those grown on soils rich in vegetable 
matter or fertilized with fresh barnyard ri^anure, those grown on land recently cleared 
from the forest, or on drained swamp lands, are all liable to carry a great deal of 
solid matter not sugar in the juice, and consequently are quite unsatisfactory to the 
sugar manufacturer. Large beets are likewise always poor in sugar. The leaf stems 
ot the beet, as well as the crown of the beet root itself, also carry much foreign mat- 
ter. In practice, the manufacturer recovers about 7 out of every 10 pounds of sugar 
contained in the beet root. 

It should be added that the apparent co-efficient of purity of the juice is fre. 
quently misleadljug, since it takes no account of the nature of the non-sugars present. 
The real purity of the beet is also to be distinguished from the apparent purity of 
the juice. The real purity of the beet is obtained by dividing the percentage of 
sugar in the beet by the total solid matter therein; the apparent purity of the juice 
by dividing the percentage of sugar therein by the apparent percentage of solids as 
indicated by the Brix spindle. 

QUALITY OF THE BEET SUGAR. 

Whenever the subject of beet sugar is brought forward the first inquiry usually 
made is, "Is beet sugar white like other sugar and does it not have a peculiar taste?" 
In its very beginning, when struggling for recognition in Europe, the beet industry 
was handicapped by the claim that its sugar was not equal in quality with that yield- 
ed by the cane plant of the tropics. England did not wish to recognize any competitor 
with the cane sugar of her dependencies. In brief, to answer the questions asked 
above, the refined sugar from the beet root equals in all particulars that yielded by 
the cane plant. Enormous quantities of beet sugar are now being shipped to this 
country from Europe, mainly Germany, and the chances are more than even that the 
persons who question the purity and flavor of beet sugar are using it daily in their 
tea and coffee. 

HOW BEET SUGAR IS MADE. 

The large illustration on Page 30 gives an admirable view of the interior of the 
Chino beet-sugar factory, which will help to make clear this description of the proc- 
ess of manufacture. First, the beets are brought in by the farmers and deposited in 
large sheds with V-shaped bottoms, which are connected with the factory by means 



ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SUGAR. 41 

of channels, through which a moderate flow of water carries the beets into the first 
washing machine^ By means of a spiral, the beets are tumbled about, washed and 
carried on until they drop into an elevator, which carries them to the top of the 
building, where they pass through an automatic weigher and are sliced in such a 
manner as to open up the pores of the beet as far as possible. The sugar beet is 
very similar to the honeycomb, and in its little cells is secreted the sweet matter, so 
that in slicing, it is desirable to open up as many of these little cells as possible. 
Hence the necessity of having the knives sharp, so that the cells may not be ruptured, 
but clean cut. As these slices come from under the cutter, they are put in what is 
known as a diffusion battery, vshown in the center of the foreground of illustration on 
Page 30. In this battery, the sugar is extracted by soaking the sliced beets in 
water. Warm water is turned into the contents of a large iron jar holding several 
tons of sliced beets. This water circulates through the mass of cossettes (the name 
given to the slices of beets) and passes out through the bottom by means of a pipe 
which -enters^he top of Jar S^% the water being forced along by pressure. 

From one battery to another, this liquid passes along until it has gone through 14 
cells or jars,^hen it is shown that sufficient water has passed through Jar No 1. 
The water is now turned off and Xo 2 becomes No 1 and No 1 is emptied of its cos- 
settes and refilled, becoming No 14, and so the circle is continued all day and all 
night, procuring in this way all the sugar in the cossettes in liquid form, which now 
has the color of vinegar. This liquid is now taken to a measuring tank near by from 
which it goes to a mixer, where it is mixed with lime and then put into a huge tank 
for carbonation. in which the lime and all foreign matter it contains is rendered 
insoluble by means of carbonic acid gas forced through the bottom of the carbonation 
tank. Then the mixture comes through the filter press room where, by means of an 
elaborate series of frames, it is filtered, and becomes transparent. The process of 
mixing, carbonating and filtering is then repeated for the second time. This fin- 
ished, the syrup is treated with sulphur fumes and then passes into the quadruple 
effect, which is four large boilers in which the water contained in the syrup is evapo- 
rated, when we have what is called "thick juice." This syrup is boiled in the vac- 
uum pan, and now becomes raw sugar, and is then run into the centrifugals and made 
into white sugar. The sugar is now damp, like wet snow, and by means of a granu- 
lator, it is dried, and through different sieves is separated into the finer or coarser* 
grained sugar, ready for the market. 



CHAPTER 11. 



HOW THE INDUSTRY HAS GROWN IN EACH STATE. 

CALIFORNIA. 

The Golden State is on the eve of an enormous development of her beet-sugar 
industry. The remarkable success of this industry in recent years has stimulated both 
capitalists and farmers to push this new industry to the utmost in case the American 

market is reserved for American sugar. 
Experiments in many parts of the state 
have been conducted extensively during 
the past six years. In many of these cases, 
the beets have been raised on a large scale 
and shipped to existing factories, some 
being hauled long distances. In other cases, 
the crop has been used as feed for stock 
while the farmers were learning how to 
raise the crop, and demonstrating the 
adaptability of the sugar beet to their pe- 
culiar soil by having the beets analyzed at 
the state experiment station. It is now 
evident that there are hundreds of square 
miles of the richest land in the world avail- 
able for sugar-beet culture in the Golden 
State. 

The factory of the Alameda sugar com- 
pany, at Alvarado, will probably be en- 
larged this year. During the campaign 
with the 1896 croj), it has worked up about 
55,000 tons of beets. Their sugar content 
varied from 12 to 18 per cent, with from 
70 to 88 per cent co-efficient of purity,^ 
averaging over 15 per cent of sugar and 
81 purity. We give on Page 33 an excel- 
lent photo-engraving of this historical 
pioneer factory. 

In tae 1895 campaign Alvarado worked 27,385 tons of beets into 5.400,000 lbs of 
sugar, the beets averaging 13 per cent of sugar. 

MR SPRECKELS' ENTERPRISE AT WATSONVILLE 

in Santa Cruz county, near the coast, about 75 miles south of San Francisco, and 25 
miles north of Monterey, has the credit of standing at the head of the sugar industry 




rKK^lDl.XT ALLEX. 
R. M. All^n, presi<1ont of flie Aniprioaii stiirar 
growers' society, is also president of tl)e Nebraska 
state sugar growers' society ami one of tlie largest 
growers of "sugar beefs iii the comilry, liaving 
grown 500 acres of beets annually for tlie iiast six 
years. He is also a large cattle feeder and is pro- 
foundly impressed with the vast possibilities of 
tlie beet suszar industry and of tlie great value in 
cattle feeding of tlie beet pulp from the factory 
and of tlie beet tops. 



44 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

in America, ^vorking up in a single season the largest quantity of beets, and turning 
out the largest quantity of sugar ever made by one factory in this country. As high 
as 1400 tons of beets have been crushed by the factory in one day of 24 hours, also the 
American record. The campaign of 1896 began in September and concluded on Jan- 
uary 29, beets being delivered by the farmers up to Jan 23. There were 154,936 tons of 
beets delivered to the factory by rail and wagon, from which 19,528 tons of sugar 
were made during the campaign of 171 days, the factory running 3446 hours— the long- 
est run on record in this or any other country. This plant does not reflne its prod- 
uct, the raw sugar being shipped to the Spreckels' refinery at San Francisco, which 
accounts in part for the large capacity of this factory. 

It is not likely that this phenomenal record will soon be duplicated by this or 
any other factory. The conditions were about as near perfect as could be, both in 
field and mill. The phenomenal crop of 1894 was beaten by about 10,000 tons by the 
crop of 1896, but the quality was much higher, as 7000 more tons of sugar were ob- 
tained the past season than in the 1894-5 campaign. 

The 155,000 tons of beets were grown on about 11,017 acres, yielding an average of 
14 tons of beets, and 3,545 pounds of raw sugar per acre. Some fields gave as high 
as 25 tons per acre, and small plots of a few acres ran up to 30 tons, while several 
tracts of 100 acres or more averaged 18 tons per acre. Fully 12,000 acres have been 
contracted for the '97 campaign, indicating a probable crop of 150,000 tons. 

In the campaign of 1895, the Watsonville factory ran 2063 hours, sliced 77,145 tons 
of beets or an average of 900 tons per day of 24 hours. From these beets 10,945 tons 
of sugar were manufactured. The beets were produced on 7244 acres, which averaged 
nearly 11 tons of beets and H tons of sugar per acre. This is a smaller yield than in 
previous years, because of extensive rainfall during the harvest period. 

The Watsonville factory pays $4 per ton for all beets, or a total paid farmers for 
the '96 crop of nearly $650,000 compared to $300,000 for the crop of the previous year. 
Since its humble beginning upon the crop of 1888, this concern has paid the farmers 
about $2,500,000 for beets — a new crop that but for this factory would not have been 
grown. More than halt a million has been paid for labor in this factory. In brief, 
this enterprise, in a little more than eight years, has distributed some $3,000, - 
000 among the farmers and laborers of this vicinity — money that otherwise would 
have gone out of the country to pay for imported sugar. This money and the indus- 
tries its circulation has created, have built up a remarkably prosperous community, 
where farmers were prosperous and' money was easy all through the hard times of 
1893-6. Whole pages could be filled with the particulars of the beneficent results of 
the industry, especially in view of the fact that but for it these farmer would have 
been obliged to raise grain or fruits at little or no profit. Many of them have paid off 
their mortgages and acquired a snug little competence besides from the beet crop. 
Says the local paper, the Pajaronain of Jan 21, 1897: "The beet payday last week was 
a giant and twenty-dollar pieces crowded each other in Watsonville. There was about 
as much money paid out here that payday as the railroad company pays out monthly 
at its big shop center, Sacramento; and the next payday will be about as large." 

EXPERIENCE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 

The enterprise at Chino in San Bernardino county in Southern California, is in 




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46 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

many respects typical of what the sugar industry can do for a community. A few 
' years ago this was a vast ranch, which Richard Gird had purchased and conducted 
as a cattle and horse-breeding establishment, on the liberal scale cliaracteristic of 
California's early days. With the decline in live stock, however, Mr Gird recognized 
the necessity of devoting his property to the production of some crop that could be 
utilized at a profit in the vicinity. Instead of going into citrus fruits or other spe- 
cialties already established in that region but in which he feared overproduction, he 
looked into the beet-sugar industry, raised beets for a number of years on various 
soils, determined their sugar content, and in due time was able to demonstrate that 
on this spot could be raised the largest yields per acre of beets richest in sugar. All 
this involved a vast amount of original and costly work, and thus it took two or 
three years to find capitalists and get them sufficiently interested to put up the 
money needed. The outcome was the establishment by the Chino Valley Beet-Sugar 
Company of the immense plant illustrated in part on Pages 30, 45 and 47, in which the 
Oxnards are the controlling spirits. 

Mr Gird had to contract to furnish the factory with at least 5000 acres of beets for 
several years— and this at a time when there was not another house to be seen from 
the homestead on the vast ranch. But with a market assured for a new, certain and 
profitable crop, Mr Gird at once offered liberal inducements to settlers, land was sold 
in small blocks on easy terms, people flocked to Chino, until it has now become a 
thriving community in a well-built town, surrounded by farms of from 10 to 30 acres 
or more, each with its comfortable home and well to-do family. All this where cattle 
and horses roamed the unbroken prairie previous to 1890. And so well was the 
enterprise conducted that when Mr Gird wished to retire in 1890, he was able to sell 
the balance of the ranch to an English syndicate for $2,500,000. 

The factory really began operations in 1891, when less than 2000 acres of beets 
were grown, and the average yield was only seven tons per acre, or a total product of 
13,000 tons, for which the farmers were paid about $51,000. During the season of 
1895, five thousand acres in this township were devoted to beets, while the product 
from 2500 acres more were hauled by rail about 75 miles from the Orange county dis- 
trict. The factory that year converted 83,000 tons of beets into sugar, for which the 
farmers were paid nearly $362,000. Most of the beets are grown within two miles of 
the factory, the longest wagon haul being eight miles, and the shortest half a mile. 
Over twenty million pounds of refined sugar was actually made and sold, exclusive of 
a little raw sugar and all molasses, etc, or an average of 249 lbs of refined sugar ob- 
tained and sold from each ton of beets, or 2747 lbs from each acre of beets. The land 
about the factory is peculiai'ly fitted for this industry, as seed can be planted very 
early on the uplands, and then in succession on the lower lands. Thus the factory 
can-begin to work up the early crop in July, and in the absence of frost can run until 
the latest seeding is harvested in N^ovember. All pitting and storing of beets is thus 
saved — a most important consideration. The season of 1890 was the dryest in 20 
years, but the factory milled 03,000 tons of beets before closing down about Nov 1, 
part of the crop not being accepted. Chino fields furnished nearly 50,000 tons. 
With the usual rainfall, 80,000 tons of beets was to have been expected. The full 
details of the last campaign are not available at this writing, but here is a table giv- 



m 









Ihis building at the left is for the 
Steffens process of refining. 

LIME KILNS 



Large piles of broken limestone 
ill the foreground. 



Three more large kilns uudef 
cover to the right. 



AT CHINO BEET SUGAR FACTORY 



1891 


1892 


1893 


1894 


1895 


1,800 


3,488 


4,191 


4,778 


7,528 


13,080 


26,266 


49,353 


43,773 


83,035 


7.2G 


7.50 


11.7 


9.16 


11.03 


13 


14 


14 


15 


15 


1,888 


2,100 


3,276 


2,748 


3,309 


1,510 


1,680 


2,621 


2,198 


2,670 


Aug 20 


July 13 


July 31 


Aug 2 


July 9 


Oct 31 


Oct 11 


Nov 4 


Oct 24 


Nov 14 


73 


91 


97 


85 


129 


179 


288 


509 


526 


644 


28,108 


86,852 


15,592 


111,431 


161,129 


1,026 


3,952 


7,532 


4,736 


10,393 


$3.90 


4.26 


4.26 


4.66 


4.35 


$28.37 


31.95 


49.84 


42.69 


47.98 



48 THE SUGAK INDUSTRY. 

ing an immense amount of information about the industry and its growth. 

THE RESULTS AT CHINO FOR ITS FIRST FIVE YEARS. 

Acres of beets grown. 

Tons of beets produced. 

Average yield of beets per acre, tons, 

Per cent of sugar in beets, 

♦Crude sugar per acre, lbs, 

*Pure sugar per acre (80%), 

Began making sugar, 

Finished making sugar. 

Days in operation. 

Average weight of beets worked daily, tons, 

Average weight of sugar made daily, lbs, 

Total weight of sugar made, tons, 

Average paid farmers per ton beets, 

Average return per acre, 

♦Estimates or data figured by the author, the other facts being all furnished from the company's 
books. The ton is of 2000 lbs. Granulated sugar only was made in '91, raw sugar only in '92 and '93, 
while the product of '94 was all the best grade of refined white granulated sugar except 1009 tons 
(2,017,363 lbs) of raw sugar, and in '95 only 51 tons (102,286 lbs) of raws. 

Among the most successful beet growers for this factory are the brothers Gustaf- 
sen, who averaged 15 to 20 tons per acre. The Dethlefsen brothers averaged 20 tons pel 
acre on 250 acres in the comparatively poor season of 1896, and will double their area 
in 1897. They give their crop close personal attention, and "no detail that will con- 
tribute to success is omitted. They have fully determined that there is a certaii?. 
profit in intelligent beet culture, and well they may, for their net profits above all 
expenses and good pay for their own time and ability, have averaged over $30 per 
acre. 

To protect their interests at the factory, planters have a strong union, which 
chooses its own chemist, weigher and tare man to keep tab on the beets as delivered, 
to see that full weight is credited on each lot, and that the deduction for tare is not 
too large, while the chemist's duplicate analyses are a check on the factory tests. At 
the annual meeting in December, 1896, of the Chino beet growers' union, numbering 
106 farmers, it was reported that 48, 139 tons beets were harvested and marketed. 
The average price per ton was $3.78, representing a total of about $180,000 paid tot 
this season's beets. The average sugar content was placed at 14 per cent. In addi- 
tion to the present membership, there are nearly 100 farmers who make a business of 
growing beets, and it is hoped these may also be brought into the union, in order to 
secure the best possible administration of the business affairs of growers. At the 
beginning of the season an assessment of 4c per ton was levied on all Chino beets tO' 
defray factory and office expenses of the union, including tare man and check chem- 
ist. The close of the season finds a surplus in the treasury which makes it possible 
to rebate lie per ton. Thus it cost less than 3c per ton harvested to carry on the 
business of the union. 

The Chino factory uses oil for fuel, from 75,000 to 100,000 barrels during a cam- 
paign, which comes through pipes from the oil company, 14 miles distant, although it 
is hoped to get a supply near by from oil wells on the ranch. It consumed 125,000 
tons of limestone in 1895, its 21 artesian wells furnished nearly 4,000,000 gallons of 

















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60 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

water daily and it paid $100,000 in wages to the 350 men employed in and about the 
factory. 

TIIK NEW FACTORIES IK CALIFORNIA. 

Work is going forward on Mr Spreckels* immense plant at Salinas City. While it 
will have a capacity of some oOOO tons of beets per day of 24 hours, it will practically 
consist of three sets of machinery under one roof, each of 1000 tons capacity daily. 
Mr Spreckels will have to pay out $12,000 a day for beets and $5000 daily for labor 
and other materials at the factory. According to this estimate, tiie daily expenses 
will average no less than $17, 000, or nearly $2,000, 000 for a campaign of under four 
months. It was expected at first tliat this immense plant would be ready for the 1897 
crop and before it was decided upon, Mr Spreckels insisted on having contracts with 
farmers to grow 25,000 acres of beets. It now appears that delays in making the 
machinery are such that the plant will not be in operation until 1898. While it will 
use the product from 25,000 to .35,000 acres of land annually, fully 100,000 acres will be 
involved, in order to permit the necessary rotation of crops. Farmers in the contigu- 
ous country, however, are ready to grow 100,000 acres of beets every year if factories 
are put up to work them. 

The Los Alamitos Sugar Co is building a large factory in the center of the Los 
Alaraitos llancho, which contains 6700 acres of choice sugar-beet land belonging to 
the Bixby Land Co, which has contracted to furnish the sugar company with its full 
complement of beets for a term of five years. This ranch lies about ten miles inland 
from the sea, near Los Angeles. The climate is perfect the year around. The soil is 
a deep, sandy, sub-irrigated loam, having been deposited for centuries by the over- 
flow of the San Gabriel river, and according to the artesian- well borings, its depth 
exceeds 400 feet. It is believed tliat there is sufiicient moisture in the soil to produce 
beets in tlie dryest years without irrigation. The factory is being equipped entirely 
with American machinery by E, IL Dyer & Co of Cleveland, Oliio, who furnish both 
buildings and machinery and turn them over to the sugar company when in full oper- 
ation. The frame of the factory is of steel and the walls of brick and will be 
equipped to work off 350 tons of beets per day of the 1897 crop. The building is so 
large that more machinery can be added to doubie the present capacity at the mini- 
mum of additional expense. Great care has been given to so plan the buikling and 
machinery as to secure the utmost economy of labor and fuel. These works will han- 
dle 350 tons of beets per day with less than 100 men, and consume under fourteen per 
cent of lignite coal for fuel. A sectional view of the structure is given on Page 37. 

Many of the sugar factory propositions in Civlifornia are awaiting the action of 
congress. Should it be favorable, several new enterprises will be established in time 
to handle thousands of additional acres of beets in '98. 

NKI5RASKA. 

The efforts to establish the beet-sugar industry in Nebraska date back about ten 
yease, and her experience is typical of the obstacles in the way of the industry. A 
factory was established at Grand Island in 1^89, by the Oxnards, being aided by the 
gift of land and a cash bonus, while the state offered a bounty of one cent per pound 
on the sugar, which yielded the factory $7,304 on the product of its first campaign 
on the crop of 1890. The law was repealed at the session of '91. Meanwhile the 



52 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

Oxnards had established another factory at Norfolk, in the northwestern part of 
Nebraska, but the farmers were slow to take hold of the industry, and with the re- 
peal of the state bounties and the national elections of '92 forecasting the repeal of 
the McKinley bounty and lower prices for beets, a decided set back was given to the 
industry. On top of this came the drouth year of 1894, with disastrous results. The 
factories having been obliged to reduce the price from $5 to $4 per ton, not enough 
were planted to run the factories a reasonable length of ^time, even had the season 
been favorable. 

The state came to the rescue and by the act of March 25, 1895, offered a bounty of 
f- of a cent per pound on all sugar manufactured, provided the price of beets was 
raised from $4 to $5. This bounty therefore amounts to an extra bonus of $1 per ton 
on the beets to growers. Thus encouraged, 5000 acres were secured for the Norfolk 
factory and 4000 for the Grand Island factory for the 1895 crop. The spring was not 
favorable, the early summer was dry, but later fine-growing weather promised a mag- 
nificent crop. Then came what the beet planter dreads almost as much as the cane 
planter fears early frosts: September opened with a general rain followed by a period 
of high temperature. The nearly ripened beets, responding to the moisture and 
warmth, began a period of growth, drawing sustenance from the sugar already stored. 
Before they could again begin elaborating sugar, a period of cold and cloudy weather 
eet in, checking growth and leaving the beets in an immature condition as a result of 
these unprecedented climatic conditions. The result was that many beets were re- 
jected by the factory because, being below 12 per cent sugar and under 80 purity, it 
did not pay to work them at $4 per ton. This caused much dissatisfaction among 
growers, who at first complained that the factory tests were not reliable, but they 
employed a chemist of their own and also had analyses made by the state experiment 
station. This work supported and justified the results reported by the factory 
chemists, and convinced farmers that the fault was in the weather and not in the 
factory. 

But for the determined efforts of the Nebraska beet-sugar growers' association, it 
is possible that the whole industry might have stopped then and there. As the 
bounty was supposed to stand for another year, a grand effort was made to give the 
industry a thorough trial in 1896. The result was all that could be expectea. The 
crop was perfect in every particular, the weather in September, October and Novem- 
ber was as usual all that could be desired, and the factories worked up over 75,000 
tons of beets. Farmers have made handsome profits on the 1896 crop, they feel that 
they have thoroughly mastered the culture of the sugar beet, and they offer to grow 
many more beets for 1897 than the factories can possibly work up, even should the 
beets be siloed so that the factories can run until March 1, as was the case at Norfolk 
on the 1896 crop. Growers who had contracts the past year want to double or triple 
their acreage and hundreds of others are anxious to raise beets on their own lands, or 
lease lands for the beet crop of 1897. And this in spite of the fact that Nebraska's 
supreme court has decided that the state bounty (of which $50,000 was paid on the '95 
crop) is not payable unless the '.legislature specifically appropriates the money there- 
for. Whether the state will pay this bounty of $1 per ton on the *96 crop is not yet 
settled, but it is evident that the state will not renew the bounty, so that unless na« 




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54 THE SUGAR IJSfDUSTKY. 

tional legislation and advancing prices for sugar increase its value, the price of beets 
for 1897 will be not over $4 per ton. That was the price for '96, the extra dollar being 
conditional upon the state paying the bounty. 

THE RECORD OF THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY IN NEBRASKA. 

The dry season of 1894 produced beets of a low water content that yielded an aver- 
age of 216 lbs of refined sugar to the ton, compared to 176 lbs the year before. In 
1895, on the other hand, late rains and a warm fall started a second growth which in- 
creased the size and weight at expense of sugar, which averaged only 150 pounds of 
refined to the ton. The average for the last campaign will be fully 200 lbs of refined 
sugar to the ton and will thus compare with previous years since the factory began 
operations 





y— Tons of beets worked— ^ 


^Granulated sugar produced lbs->, 


^No 


of growers— 4 


Year 


GI 


Norfolk 


Total 


GI 


Norfolk 


Total 


G I Norfolk Total 


1890, 


4,414 


— 


— 


736,400 


— 


— 


607 


— 


— 


1891, 


10,808 


8,179 


19,047 


1,415,800 


1,318,700 


2,734,500 


408 


204 


6ia 


1892, 


13,055 


10,725 


23,780 


2,110,100 


1.093,400 


3,803,500 


240 


490 


730 


1893, 


11,150 


22,625 


33,775 


1,835,900 


4,107,300 


5,943,200 


135 


181 


316 


1894*, 


drouth 


25,633 


35,633 


— 


5,556,100 


5,556,100 


— 


534 


534 


1895, 


24,343 


31,194 


55,537 


2,983,400 


5,395,500 


8,378,900 


619 


698 


1317 


1896,t 


75,000 


— 


75,000 


- 


— 


15,000,000 


— 


— 


200O 



♦General drouth made tonnage so small in 1894 that the beets belonging to the Grand Island factory 
district were worked up at the Norfolk factory, t Partly estimated. 

The average yield last year was 10 to 12 tons per acre, but some experienced grow- 
ers on richly manured bottom land had from 18 to 25 tons per acre, and even more. 
Growers of beets for these factories are more or less scattered over the state, and 
much of the crop has to be hauled by rail. The freight is 30c per ton for distances of 
25 miles or less, 50c for 25 to 45 miles, and 80o for 45 to 100 miles, the rate being a lit- 
tle higher on another railroad, which exacts an additional charge of $2 per car for 
switching. The cars are loaded to their visible capacity. The factories paid about 
$300,000 for beets in '96, or $;]5 to $75 per acre and even more in a few instances. 
Renters pay $8 to $10 per acre per year for choice beet land. 

But for the splendid and persistent work of the Nebraska experiment station (es- 
pecially H. H. Nicholson), which conducted tests in all parts of the state and made 
thousands of analyses, and even conducted a sugar school, the present assured posi- 
tion of the business in Nebraska could not have been reached. The station has made 
10,000 analyses, the average of all being over 14 per cent of sugar in Nebraska beets. 
It is now certain that only moisture and proper culture are needed to enable the 
beet to be growji to perfection in almost any part of the state. There is a great 
demand for beet-sugar factories in almost every county in Nebraska. 

UTAH. 

Keen interest is felt in the beet-sugar industry all over this state, o^ing t^ the 
established success of the (at present) only sugar factory in the whole inter-mountain 
region of the United States, at Lehi, a few miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah. 
Beets for sugar manufacturing can be ruined by a superabundance of moisture just at 
the ripening period. As sugar beets can be grown here only by irrigation, the indus- 
try at the outset was surrounded by new and peculiar conditions. The knowledge 
and science of beet growing (it is a science) were obtained from experts from Cali- 




THE GREAT BOILER ROOM OF A BEET SUGAR FACTORY. 

From a photograph of the plant at Chino, southern California. The fuel Is oil, 80,000 barrels being consumed per seasOB 

to operate the 2,400 horse power engines. 



66 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



fornia, but they were ignorant of the methods of irrigation, so it required the corn* 
bined knowledge of the experienced beet growers of California and the skillful irriga- 
tors of Utah to succe.-«sfully produce our first crop of sugar beets. But the problem 
has been most happily solved, and to-day Utah produces sugar beets that are fast ap- 
proaching in quality those of the oldest beet-growing countries. 

The growing of this plant is a departure from the usual methods of farming as 
practiced by the ordinary farmer, in that no part of it can be neglected, or even done 




AIAP OF EASTERN NEBRASKA 
Showing 'location of the two beet sugar factories at Norfork and Grand 
Island, and principal points at wliich l)eets are grown for shipment. (From 
Bulletin 44, Nebraska experiment station at Lincoln.) 

^n a haphazard sort of manner, without sacrificing the crop. It requires intensive 
cultivation in every sense, but it pays well, a larger cash return beins: obtained from 
one acre of beets than from three acres of grain. As the farmers gradually become 
more familiar with the crop, they steadily increase the yield in tons per acre as well 
as the sugar quality of the beet. 

The farmers of Utah for the first two years took hold of the beet industry cau- 
tiously and lightly, preferring to carefully test its merits for themselves before risk- 
ing too much on a new crop. There were some failures and many successes, but they 
soon discovered its value, and the increased acreage offered since then has been so 
great that for the past two seasons the sugar company could not accept it all. At the 
present writing (March, 1896), there are already applications for over 1000 acres of 
beets more than can be accepted for the coming season of 1S"J6. During the sugar 
campaign just closed, the Lehi factory received 33,108 tons of beets from 3300 acres, 
an average of 11.54 tons per acre; 300 acres averaged about 7 tons, 2000 acres about li 




Machine Shops, Boiler House and Lime Kiln. 




Rear View of Main Building. 
PICTURES OF OREGON'S FIRST SUGAR WORKS. 



58 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

tons, while the remaining 1000 acres made about 14 tons per acre of trimmed beeta 

delivered at factory. At $4.25 per ton, the farmers got nearly $162,000 for the crop, 

from which was made nearly 7,500,000 lbs of refined granulated white sugar. Com- 
pared with the previous years the following 

TABI,E SHOWS THE PROGRESS OF THE INDUSTRY IX UTAH. 







1891 


1892 


1893 


1894 


1895 


Acres of beets grown. 




1,500 


1,500 


2,755 


2,850 


3,3011 


Tons of beets producefl. 




9,960 


9,816 


26,800 


32,694 


38,10^ 


Averafje yield of beets per acre, 


tons. 


6.6 


6.5 


9.7 


11.47 


11.54 


Per cent of sugar In beets. 




11.0 


11.8 


11.6 


12.7 


13.5 


Purity of sugar, per cent, 




80.0 


80.0 


79.5 


80.2 


81.5 


♦Crude sugar per acre, lbs. 




1,452 


1,534 


2,250 


2.913 


3,116 


*Pure sugar per acre, lbs. 




1,162 


1,227 


1,719 


2,336 


2,539 


Began making sugar. 




Oct i2 


Sept 26 


Sept 19 


Sept 25 


Septs 


Finished malting sugar. 




Decs 


Nov 13 


Dee 21 


Jan 5 


Dec 31 


Days in operation, 




58 


49 


94 


103 


118 



♦Estimates added by tlie author as matters of interest. About 45,000 tons of beets were worked in 
1896, for which $4.25 per ton was paid, or a total ot about $190,000; paid for labor at factory about $35,000, 
for coal $30,000 and for otlier supplies $25,000. 

The methods of manufacture have practically reached the same degree of perfec- 
tion in the successful factories of this country as they have in Europe, showing that 
the essential factor for the success of the beet-sugar industry of America is the beet 
root itself. The factory at Lehi, Utah, was the first one to be planned and constructed 
by Americans and equipped throughout with American machinery. It certainly has 
many features of excellence to commend it over the European factories. The machin- 
ery of itself is more effective in many ways, and its arrangement is such that there is 
a saving of at least one-fourth the number of hands required in a European factory 
of the same capacity. During our campaign of 1895, out of which 11.3 days were oc- 
cupied in cutting and working beets, it worked an avei'age of 337i tons per day, with 
a factory of only 300 tons guaranteed capacity. As appears from the table above, the 
length of a beet-sugar campaign is necessarily limited to a few weeks after the har- 
yesting period, for the beets cannot be kept very long without so deteriorating as to 
be unprofitable for manufacturing purposes. The total yearly expenses, therefore, of 
an investment of from one-half to three-quarters of a million of dollars, have to be 
made during a campaign of 90 to 110 days. 

The engravings herewith, from photographs taken especially for this work, give 
an admirable insight into this Utah enterprise. It was projected by men of Utah, 
who furnished all of the $600,000 inve.sted in the plant, with its 1000 acres of land, 
with silos and pits for pulp and yards for feeding it to stock. Many shares in tha 
factory are owned among the farmers, and it is in that sense co-operative. The two 
principal buildings are entirely of brick, the walls being two feet thick, the founda- 
tion laid deep, and the piers sustaining the main weight of the machinery being solid 
masonry resting on bed rock. The main building is 180x84 feet, three stories 
high. The annex is 184x60 feet. In the latter building are contained ten 
horizontal tubular boilers, with a generating capacity of 100 horse power 
each; twenty large char-filters, char kiln with all the necessary apparatus for 
revivifying the bone charcoal, and the lime kilu, which treats about seventeen tons of 
lime rock each 24 hours, the carbonic acid gas having to be retained from the lime, as 
it is necessary in the manufacture of sugar. All the ground floors are solid concrete 




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60 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

and all the buildings are lighted with electric lights, which is generated on the prem- 
ises. There are two sugar store warehouses ; one 75x40 feet, the other 125x40 feet, the 
total capacity of which is 40,000 bags of sugar. The total weight of machinery is 
upwards of 1000 tons. 

So prosperous has Lehi become that in 1896 there was not a single delinquent tax- 
payer. This is a remarkable fact for any town, but especially for a western commu- 
nity which has more or less " floating" population. But the Lehi people are "stay- 
ers" since the sugar industry is established. 

NEW MEXICO. 

The Pecos Valley Beet Sugar Co established a factory at Eddy, New Mexico, late 
in 1896, and are planning for a 700-ton plant 75 miles north of that place, to be erected 
this year. The Eddy plant was late in starting, and from Nov 25 to Jan 1, '97, re- 
ceived 3706 tons of beets and the total supply was about 18,000 tons. Many farmers 
irrigated too much and others did not cultivate properly, but in spite of these obsta- 
cles the first crop averaged about 12 tons per acre on the 1500 acres grown, while some 
fields, properly worked, made nearly 20 tons per acre, the range in yield running gen- 
erally from 8 to 16 tons per acre. The sugar content ranged from 14 to 21 per cent and 
over 80 purity, and the average for the total tonnage will "probably be close to 16 per 
cent." Enough has been done to indicate that the arid southwest is likely to prove 
well adapted to the sugar beet. In spite of the unusual winter weather, in spite of a 
late start in making sugar, and in spite of all the numerous obstacles that beset such 
an enterprise the first season in a new country, the company report that their ' 'most 
sanguine expectations are being realized." Making every discount possible for the 
claims of interested partiei, iz is evident that a brilliant start has been made for the 
Pecos Valley sugar industry. Seldom, if ever, has an enterprise of this kind in the 
United States done as well its first year. 

WISCONSIN. 

A sugar factory was erected at Menomonee Falls, Waukesha Co, Wis, about fifteen 
miles northwest of Milwaukee, in 1896. The enterprise was due to the efforts of Mr 
K. G. Korn, who has patiently worked for years to develop the enterprise. He is 
the general manager, having entire charge of designing the factory and building and 
installing the machinery. He gave his time to the work without pay until the factory 
was in operation and had the machinery built at machine shops in Milwaukee. On 
account of the disturbance in financial affairs, the factory was not ready for business 
until January, '97, but it had nearly 18,000 tons of beets in silos waiting to be manu- 
factured into sugar, as illustrated and described on Page 61. The campaign closed late 
in March, '97, with a satisfactory run up to latest reports. The greatest difficulty Mr 
Korn found was to get farmers to grow the beets, but after an 18-months' canvass he 
succeeded in getting a ten years' contract for growing 2500 acres of beets from 350 
farmers within a radius of ten miles of the factory. The contract agrees to pay $4 
per ton for all beets testing 12 per cent sugar, $5 for those testing 16 per cent, and an 
annual premium of $50 for the best grown field of beets. An average test from several 
of the largest crops of '96 show from 12i to 13^ per cent sugar, and it is believed that 



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62 THE SUGAR lifDUSTRY. 

the yield will average 12 to 14 tons per acre ; many raised 15 to 18 tons per acre, and 
one crop made 23 tons of good beets per acre. The factory, illustrated on Page 61, 
has a capacity of 275 tons of beets per day of 24 hours. 

This factory is the outcome of elaborate inquiries conducted by the Wisconsin ex- 
periment station that show almost the entire state to be wonderfully adapted to the 
sugar beet. The beet ripens ordinarily by Sept 15 or 20, and until Nov 10 there is 
little danger from cold, but after that silos will i.be necessary if a factory is to run 
much over CO days. Hundreds of pounds of beets have been grown all over the state 
and analyzed at the station, showing total averages of from 12|- to 14i per cent of 
sugar, while many samples ran up to 18 per cent and the co-efficient of purity aver- 
aged over 80. The Vilmorin gave the richest sugar and the Despez Richest the next. 
As a result of all this work, there is a deep interest in the sugar question. 

OTHER STATES. 

So much fo'* results in states in which beet sugar factories are already in opera- 
tion. In many other states much work has been done in growing beets to test the 
adaptability of the soil to this crop. Thousands of analyses have been made by the 
United States department of agriculture and by several of the state experiment sta- 
tions. It is evident from all this work during the past ten years that beets can be 
commercially grown at a profit over most of the vast area indicated in Map No 3,'fron- 
tispiece— from the Hudson to the Pacific, from the Carolinas to the Lakes. We do 
not advocate the industry for New England, because the limited areas suitable for 
beet culture can hardly compete with the wider areas and more fertile soils of the 
middle and western states. 

New York— We did nothing in the way of testing sugar beets in 1895. In the 
spring of 1894, we sent out 45 packages of seeds to the various counties of the state. 
The following table sets forth in brief the average weight of beets, the average yield 
per acre, the per cent of sugar and the average yield per acre of sugar of three varie- 
ties in 1894: 





Average 


Average 


Average 


Average 




weight in ounces 


yield in tons 


% sugar 


yield of sugar 


Variety 


per beet 


per acre 




per acre 


Mette, 


32.76 


26.5 


10.05 


5326.5 lbs 2.66 tons 


Vilinoiin's Imperial, 


34.16 


34 


6.92 


4705 " 2.35 " 


D K"waiiz, 


30.59 


24.77 


9.38 


4246.5 " 2.12 " 


Average of all, 


32.50 


28.42 


8.78 


4759.4 lbs 2.37 tons 



These plots were small, and it is to be supposed that the yield was much larger 
than could have been secured on large areas and that the beets selected were larger 
than the average. During the season the beets stopped growing in midsummer, and 
became nearly ripe. Fall rains started them [to growing most vigorously and they 
put out new leaves, which without doubt greatly diminished the sugar content. The 
largest yield (D. K'wanz) was 56 tons per acre with 8.5 per cent of sugar. The next 
largest (Vilmorin's Imp) was 54 tons with 5.05 per cent sugar. Westchester county 
reported a yield of 12 tons and 12,7 per cent sugar of the variety Vilmorin's Im- 
proved, and Seneca county 6 tons with 5.7 per cent sugar. The yields and per cent 
of sugar were extremely variable. In 1893, eight plots of Dippe's Kleinwanzlebener, 
in various counties, gave an average of 21 tons with 12.86 per cent sugar. Twelve 




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64 THE SUGAR INDUSTKY. 

plots of Knauer's Imperial, variously distributed, gave an average of 2G tons with 
12.5 per cent sugar. Seven plots of Vilmorin's Richest gave 14 tons with 13.2 per 
cent sugar. Clay soils gave 13 tons with 12.5 per cent of sugar (all varieties); clay 
loam 22 tons with 13,1 per cent sugar, and sandy loam and gravel 28 tons with 12. (> 
per cent sugar. We now have two imported varieties growing which will be tested 
later.— [Prof I. i\ Roberts, director of Cornell agricultural experiment station and 
professor of agriculture in Cornell university. 

Middle States— Comparatively little has been done in Pennsylvania. In New 
Jersey, Maryland and Delaware, no proper tests in beet culture have been made re- 
cently, but good beets were grown in the 70' s, and there is no reason why the crop 
should not thrive on certain soils properly fertilized. Recent Maryland tests have not 
given promising results. 

Ohio — The experiment station has done little in this line, but private tests are 
encouraging, and thousands will be made in 1897. 

Missouri— In 1890, on upland limestone clay loam of average fertility in Boone 
county, yield per acre highest 19 tons, lowest 12, average 15; sugar, highest 18 per 
cent, lowest 10, average 14. In 1891, same farm, yield 8 to 12 tons, average 10; sugar 
7 to 14 per cent, average Hi. In '92, tests were made in five northwestern counties, 
northeast nine counties, southwest five, southeast one county, representing seven dif- 
ferent varieties and 55 samples : Per cent of sugar in beets, highest 19, lowest 4.6, 
average 9.8; purity, 47.5 to 79.3 per cent, averaging 07.3. These varieties at the sta- 
tion in Boone county that year yielded 9 to 12 tons per acre, mean 8.8 tons; per cent 
of sugar 7 to 13, average 11; purity 65 to 75, average 70. Director Waters says : 
"Results thus far not encouraging, soil much too compact and hard; Missouri lies 
south of best sugar belt, mean summer temperature 6 per cent higher than in 
counties producing this crop most successfully. " We suggest much more work for 
several seasons before throwing Missouri out of tlie sugar belt. 

Oklahoma— Little work done. Director Morrow "believes climatic conditions 
give little prospect of success." But if beets do wonders in Pecos valley, N M, they 
ought to be tested thoroughly in Oklahoma. This also applies to Indian Territory. 

Kansas— Many plots of sugar beets grown at state experiment stations at Man- 
hattan and other parts of state, '90-2. First year not conclusive; 3(50 tests in 56 coun- 
ties were unsatisfactory in '91, owing to climatic conditions. For '92, the station and 
85 farmers over the state raised beets, but the season was again unfavorable and the 
results "cannot be regarded as lending great encouragement to the hope of the suc- 
cessful establishment of the beet-sugar industry in this state. There are, however, a 
considerable number of samples showing a high percentage of sugar." More work is 
needed and evidently irrigation or other insurance against drouth is required. 

South Dakota— Experiments were conducted in every county, 1889-93, results in 
four bulletins, of which Nos 27 and 34 can still be supplied. Yield 10 to over 40 tons 
of beets per acre on acre plots running from 15 to 20 tons as a fair average; sugar 
content 9 to 20 per cent, very few samples below 12 mostly 13 to 10 per cent, three- 
quarters of all samples showing 16 per cent sugar or more. Chemist J. II. Shepard 



66 THE SUGAE INDUSTRY. 

concludes: "The state is well adapted to sugar-beet culture, tonnage very high, pu. 
rity co-elficient quite satisfactory, averagiug about 85." 

North Dakota — E. F. Ladd, chemist, reports analyses of beets grown in '91 
from 129 farms in all parts of state, yielding estimated average of 13 tons per acre, 
containing 7 to 18 per cent sugar, average 11.43, purity 46 to 98. In '92, Prof Ladd 
believed other crops would be more profitable in most of the states; his letter in the 
fall of '90 expresses no opinion. But further private tests and experiments in Utah, 
Nebraska and Wisconsin, prove beyond question that the beet sugar industry can be 
made a great success in most parts of North Dakota. 

MiciiiGAN^ — Tests were made all over the state in 1891. Season was unfavorable, 
drouth serious, results conflicting. In western counties 28 farmers reported an aver- 
age of 15 tons of beets per acre containing over 14 per cent sugar; southeast, 21 re- 
ports averaged 16i tons and 13i per cent sugar; central, 40 reports averaged 13 tons of 
14i per cent sugar; northeastern, 49 reports averaged 15 tons and 13i per cent sugar. 
This makes a promising outlook for both farmer and manufacturer, especially in 
southern Michigan. See Bulletin 382, Experiment Station. Agricultural College P O. 

Indiana — About 300 analyses reported (by H. A.Huston, chemist) of beets grown 
in 150 different localities all over the state in 1889-94, show highest yields of 12 to 42 
tons per acre, lowest 3 to 13 tons; sugar, in juice, highest 14 to 18 per cent, lowest 5 
to 10; purity, highest 87 to 90, lowest 58 to 70. Small plot tests prior to '94; that 
year, ten fields of i to 1 acre averaged 19 tons per acre, and half of these fields gave 
beets of quality sufficient for sugar manufacture. Chemist Huston adds: "Beets of 
satisfactory quality can be grown in all parts of Indiana. With one exception, all 
correspondents who have raised beets in large plots believe that at $4 per ton this 
crop would pay a profit." H. Cordez, who has been working for two years to estab- 
lish a factory near Evansville, southern Indiana, obtained 15i and 16 per cent sugar 
of 85 to 90 purity in small plot tests in '96. 

Illinois— Because farmers failed to raise enough beets to run the factory at 
Freeport many years ago, and because on some soils the crop did not seem to thrive, 
the impression has gone out that this state could not grow beets. The experiment 
station has done very little to ascertain the truth. Until the matter has been as 
widely tested as in Minnesota or Wisconsin, correct judgment cannot be formed. 
Until such tests prove to the contrary, we shall believe Illinois has thousands of acres 
that can be readily adapted to this crop. 

Minnesota (Prof Henry Snyder)— It has been the aim of the state experiment 
station to test, in as thorough and impartial a way as possible, the adaptability of 
Minnesota's soil and climate to the growing of sugar beets. The work has been car- 
ried on for eight years, during which time 1079 samples of sugar beets have been ana- 
lyzed, showing of sugar 10 to 20 per cent, an average of 14 per cent; purity 70 to 94, 
an average of 80}. The beets have been grown in a large number of counties through- 
out the state. It is believed that the experiment station has demonstrated that sugar 
beets, with a high per cent of sugar and co-efficient of purity, can be raised in Min- 
nesota, at a cost of $2 to $3 per ton. The average yield per acre was 15 tons. 

lOAVA— For the purpose of ascertaining by repeated experimentation how well 
Iowa is adapted to growing sugar beets, we began in 1891 and have grown and tested 



68 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

sugar beets every year since that time. We have probably three or four acres grow- 
ing on the station grounds at present. Seed has been sent to a majority of the coun- 
ties of the state, so as to give us wide and comprehensive reports regarding the abil- 
ity of our state in its several counties to grow beets with a sufficient percentage of 
sugar to make the industry profitable. 

We also, in 1891, conducted an experiment on the college grounds with a piece of 
land over an acre in extent, having different kinds of soil and treated different waj's, 
80 as to ascertain what soil is best and what method of cultivation is advisable. 
From the whole fleld, we got an average of 20 tons to the acre with 14.14 per cent 
sugar in the beets, and 76 per cent average purity of juice. We grew this field of 
beets under twelve different conditions. We used different kinds of fertilizers on 
three pieces, but got no evident benefic; we got our highest average of sugar from 
the piece of ground from which woods had been cleared off, 15. 17 per cent of sugar 
with 82.3 purity of juice. We let one part of the fleld on low, rich loam grow the 
beets as large as we could possibly grow them by thinning them out; the average pu- 
rity of juice went down to 72.8 and the sugar in the beet was 11.52. Only three of 
the twelve conditions gave us sugar in the beet under 13 per cent. We got the great- 
est tonnage from early planting; subsoiling gave us the best shaped beets. The per- 
centage of sugar was affected by rains in October causing a second growth. Our high- 
est analyses came from beets averaging 13 ounces trimmed, and yielding 12 and 13 
tons per acre ; our highest yield of sugar per acre came from beets averaging 21 
ounces trimmed, and yielding over 28 tons to the acre. Clay soil gave us the highest 
per cent of sugar, comparatively higher purity, and lowest tonnage per acre. We had 
no distinctively sandy soil. 

Keports from different counties in the state show a wide range of sugar per cent 
and purity co-efficient. The highest we have received comes from Muscatine county; 
over a hundred farmers reported from that county in 1891. About 10 per cent re- 
ported a sugar per cent under 12, while half of the number report the sugar in the 
beet over 15 per cent, and some run as high as 19 per cent. 

I have no doubt that a large area within the state will grow sugar beets profita- 
bly. The purity of the juice is not as high in our state in all parts as it is in others, 
but the yield per acre has much to do with the profitableness of the crop, and from 
reports of the growth of beets west of us, I am satisfied that our tonnage is much 
heavier than is common in drier states. Iowa soil is so well supplied with plant food 
of all kinds, organic and mineral, that no fertilization is required. We sent to Louis- 
iana and got the most approved sugar-cane-growing fertilizers, but were unable to see 
any improvement whatever from their application. Our soil has abundant lime, pot 
ash, phosphoric acid and nitrogenous compounds, so that apparently only capital 
and skill are necessary to make all of the sugar in Iowa that the United States may 
require. — [James Wilson, (Director Iowa experiment station; Professor of Agriculture 
Iowa Agricultural college; Secretary of Agriculture for the United States— 1897-1901). 

IN THE WEST. 

There is no longer a shadow of a doubt as to the adaptability of vast areas to the 
sugar beet, although it is true that more extended experiments are necessary in some 
sections to further demonstrate the quantity and quality that can be raised. Espe- 




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70 THE SUGAR IISTDUSTRY. 

cially is this true in Montana, where practically nothing was done in this line until 
the past year. In Wyoming, on the other hand, many tests were made 1891-5, show- 
ing average yields of from 8 to 14 tons per acre, an average sugar content of from 16 
to 17 per cent with from 78 to 83 purity. Summarizing all this work done by the 
state experiment station at Laramie, Prof Bulfum concludes that "the yield averages 
sufficient to make it a profitable crop, while the beets are of better quality than in 
many states where factories are successfully operated." 

In Colorado, more than 50 localities have grown beets and the conditions h^^ve 
proven favorable everywhere under 7000 ft altitude, though best under 6000 ft, when 
the ground and crop are properly handled. Co-efficient of purity is good. The yield 
runs from 10 to 15 per cent of sucrose, averaging fully 13 per cent, and under "proper 
conditions much more than that. Kesults in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Cali- 
fornia have already been enumerated. 

In Idaho, the yield runs from 10 to 20 tons per acre with a large sugar content of 
high purity. In Washington, very fortunately, a great number of experiments 
have been conducted in most parts of the state under the auspices of the state exper- 
iment station at Pullman. Over 1700 analyses have been made, showing an average of 
more than 15 per cent sugar of nearly 84 purity. The beets from almost every county 
closely approximate this standard. It is a remarkable showing and demonstrates be- 
yond a peradventure that the state of Washington is singularly adapted to the indus- 
try. The average yield per acre is not reported, but Prof Fulmer says: "It is proba- 
ble that an average of 20 tons per acre would be a conservative estimate." Allowing 
for the extraordinary richness o£ Washington soil, it is probable that this is rather 
high. In Oregon, tests were conducted for three years 1891-3, and again last year, 
showing that beets raised under all sorts of conditions varied from 8 to 221 per cent 
sugar in the juice of above 80 purity. Prof G. W. Shaw's analysis of beets grovvn by 
an expert in Washington county the past year averaged 10| to nearly 18 per cent 
sugar of 88 to 91 purity, and even after the second rains in the fall these beets aver- 
aged over 12 and 80. Prof Shaw believes that even west of the Cascade mountains, 
the earlier crops of beets would be harvested before the fall rains start a second 
growth, and that even in that region as well as east of it, the state is wonderfully 
adapted to the sugar beet. 

IN THE SOUTH. 

Virginia— Mr O. K. Lapam, who operated a small factory at Staunton, Va, for two 
or three seasons, mitil it was burned, is enthusiastic over the possibilities of the indus- 
try in this section. The bee*^s averaged 14 to 14i per cent of sugar and yielded an aver- 
age of from 12 to 13 tons per acre, at a cost of from $10 to $40 per acre including delivery 
of beets to factory and fertilizers as well as all other expenses. He estimates the aver- 
age cost at $25 to $30 per acre in the south when beets are grown within five miles Of 
the factory. At $4 per ton and an average of 12i tons per acre, the income would be 
$50 per acre. To this should be added six tons of pulp, worth to the farmer $2 per too 
or $12 per acre, while the improvement of his land by deep tillage and thorough de- 
struction of weeds is at least $5 more. The crop which follows beets will yield 50 per 



TUE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. '21 

cent more than on the same land not having been previously used for beets. Mr 
Lapham "knows of no industry more needed in the south than this to improve the 
land, while insuring a sure and profitable return to the farmer, and incidentally 
benefiting all classes connected with it." 

In North Carolina, sugar beets have not been tested since '87-8, when the results 
were discouraging. Director H. B. Battle of the experiment station at Raleigh says : 
"Should there be a demand for the produce lor manufacturing sugar, the cultivation 
could be rapidly and successfully developed." 

In Kentucky, Director M. A. Scovell of the experiment station at Lexington ia 
not hopeful of results, owing to the comparatively low sugar content, but H. Cordez 
cultivated three kinds of sugar beets on an alluvial soil in Green River valley, west- 
ern Kentucky, in '96, which showed 16 to 171 per cent sugar of more than 80 degrees 
purity, and he is very confident that the crop will thrive over much of this state. 

In Tennessee, Secretary Vanderford of the state experiment station at Kiioxville, 
writes: "I am satisfied that there are areas of considerable extent in all divisions of 
the state, and particularly in west Tennessee, where sugar beets of more than aver- 
age sucrose content and of high purity can be grown at an average cost of $3 per 
ton or less. Under adverse conditions, upon an unsuitable soil on our station farm, 
we have demonstrated that sugar beets can be made profitable in Tennessee." 

The Arkansas station reports having grown sugar beets in three parts of the state 
but the yield and sugar content were varying and unsatisfactory. "The temperature 
is hardly suitable in this state, except perhaps in the northwestern part," say Direc- 
tor Bennett, but we would suggest more exhaustive inquiry before accepting the ac- 
curacy of this opinion. 

Prof W. C. Stubbs writes: "It is doubtful whether the sugar beet can be grown 
south of the Ohio river w^ith profit. Our experiments in Louisiana have clearly 
shown that no reliance can be placed on the sugar beet crop in this state. This is due 
to the fact that frequently beets are planted here in the fall and are grown throughout 
the entire winter. It is with us more of a fall and winter crop than a summer crop, 
and since sunshine is needed to elaborate the sugar, it is rarely that we find beets 
here rich in saccharine matter." 

No tests are on record as to the adaptability of the soils and climates of northern 
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina to the sugar beet, although it is 
probable that the crop will be widely tested all through these regions. 

In Texas rich beets are raised in the temperate climate of the semi-arid region 
under irrigation, but in the warmer and more humid part cane does better, as beets 
here are poor in sugar. 

Certain practical men, who have had large experience in sugar-beet culture and 
manufacture in this country and who are also acquainted with European conditions, 
are strong in the belief that the middle south, meaning especially Virginia, West Vir- 
ginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, will yet prove to be a fine location for the beet sugal 
industry, because of the long season, abundance of sunshine, nearness to marke? 
and other conditions. 




CHAPTER IIL 
CTLTTRE OF THE SUGAR BEET. 

CLIMATIC CO^TDITIOXS, 

EETS THEITE BEST in a temperate climate, which ii 
the United States covers a vast area. While the 
plant develops under a great variety of weather con- 
ditions, more recent experience seems to confirm in a 
measure the previously accepted theory that the sugar 
beet as a rule does best in regions where the average 
temperature for the months of June, July and Au- 
gust is about "OdegreesF. This isothermal line hai 
been carefully determined by the United States de- 
partment of agriculture and is indicated on map Xo 3, 
(See frontispiece, ) Dr Wiley in 1S90 regarded the 
sugar beet belt as extending about lOO miles on each side of this line. Experience 
since shows that the area adapted to this crop is by no means limited to this belt and 
that it is far larger than has been supposed. The map referred to indicates in a 
general way the area in which both soils and climates can be found peculiarly adapt- 
ed to the sugar beet. 

Sunshine is required to make sugar. Hence, the number of clear -"nd sunshiny 
days that can usually be depended upon in any section is an important cuusideration, 
which has not been sufficiently emphasized in much of the literature heretofore pub- 
lished. This explains the advantage of many parts of the so-called arid west for this 
industry, especially California and the Southwest. 

Another important climatic consideration is favorable weather during the ripen- 
ing and harvesting period. Clear sunshine, absence of fogs and moisture, are impor- 
tant at this period. We have seen how in 1S95 a fine crop of sugar beets in Nebraska 
was almost ruined by a warm, wet spell early in the harvesting time. While this is 
unusual in many of the eastern and central states, it is liable to occur in most of the 
country east of the 100th meridian. Such weather starts a new growth of the beeta 
that consumes the sugar or changes it to starch, and it requires several days of sharp 
sunshine and warmth, without too much himiidity, to restore the sugar content. 

The beet must also have suflBcient moisture at the right time to produce the best 
results. This moisture must come either from the rainfall, from irrigation or "the 
soil must be of that peculiar quality that will allow subterranean moisture to reach 
the rootlets of the plant," which is the case in parts of California and some other 
states. While proper cultivation of a subsoil soil will enable the beet to thrive with 



74 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

more or less water, Wiley maintains that an average summer precipitation of 2 to 4 
inches per month is desirable. Nebraska experience shows that a good crop is as- 
sured, provided other things are done properly, if May and June are warm and not 
too wet, July and August wet and not too hot, September and October warm and 
dry. 

The longer the season the more favorable to this industry. In California, plant- 
ing begins as early as January on the higher and dryer soils and continues until June 
on the lower and more moist lands, thus maturing the crop continually from about the 
first of August to almost the new year. In the vicinity of Watsonville, planting of the 
'97 crop began as early as Jan 15, while the last of the '96 crop was hardly out of the 
ground on the last day of the year. In other parts of the country, the planting has to 
be done in a short time, usually during May, because the ground is too cold and later 
the season will be so short as to jirevent maturity before frost. 

Another advantage in the mild climate is the longer period of harvesting. As 
Just noted in California, beets may be harvested during the last five months of the 
year, whereas in most other sections, the digging must be comj)leted before hard 
frosts. It has been assumed that beets would keep longer in the mild winter of Cali- 
fornia (where frost is almost unknown) than in the severe winters of the north and 
east. It has been customary to keep the beets in cold climates in silos but Utah ex- 
perience during the winter of '96-7 indicates that such protection against cold may 
not be as necessary as has been supposed. This point is further discussed under the 
head of storing beets. Certain it is that a climate which allows a factory to run from 
100 to 150 days in ordinary seasons is far more advantageous than sections where the 
mill can not have good beets to run on more than 80 or 100 days. 

VARIETIES OF BEETS. 

"All kinds of sugar beets are botanically identical with the common garden beet. 
Beta vulgaris. The differences in varieties have arisen by reason of special selection 
and culture producing a pure strain of some valuable peculiarity in the beet. These 
accideatal valuable qualities by careful selection have become tixed and are associ- 
ated with certain external properties which have thus come to be regarded as distin- 
guishing characteristics. 

"The shape and size of the beet, its color, the character of its foliage, whether 
erect or spreading, etc, are the most frequent marks of distinction. The beets are 
also frequently designated by the names of those who have developed them, or by 
the name of the town or locality in Europe in which they have been grown, or by 
their color. 

"Among the more frequently occurring varieties grown in Europe may be men- 
tioned the '^ilmorin Improved, Klein Wanzlebener, Improved Klein Wanzlebener, 
White Excel ior. White Imperial, Simon Le Grande, Florimond and Bulteau Desprez 
llichest, Bn brant Sugar Beet, Kose Imperial, White Silesian, etc, 

"The tw) varieties which have been most widely grown in this country are the 
Vilrnorin Improved and the Klein Wanzlebener. The certainty that the seed has 
been grown according to the most sciwntiflc methods is of greater importance to the 
beet grower than the variety. The beet has reached such a high state of perfection 



THE BEET SUGAR IJSDUSTRY. 



75 



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76 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

as to make the least degree of laxity in its treatment exceedingly dangerous to its 
qualities." 

The two kinds named are preferred in California, Nebraska prefers Dippe la pluB 
Riche, Dippe Klein Wanzlebener, Original Klein Wanzlebener, and Vilmorin's Im- 
proved White. The two latter varieties are mainly grown in Utah. 

No variety of sugar beet is suited to all conditions. Different soils and treatment 
make peculiar demands upon the variety. Experience with varieties in other parts of 
this or foreign countries is not a safe guide. The only practical way is to find out by 
actual experiment on each farm which variety does the best in yield and quality un- 
der its conditions. The seed must be good— of strong germinating power. "Cheap" 



CROSS-SECTION OF BEET 

Dlnstrated on page 32. This cross-sectiou is life size at ttie point of largest diameter. The dotted lines show tho 

concentric rings of growth. 

seed is in the end the most costly. This country is producing some seed now, and in 
a few years will doubtless grow all its beet seed, as discussed later in this chapter. 

Size of Beet — It is generally considered that large beets, weighing more than 
3 lbs, are usually of poor quality. This depends entirely upon the soil upon which 
they are grown, and upon the variety of seed. As a general rule, however, it can be 
said that the large beets are lower in quality than small ones. The size most desired 
is from U to 2 lbs in weight. Where beets are too large or too poor in quality 
to be worked at the factory, they can be utilized for stock feed. For this purpose tho 
beets are considered in France worth 75 per cent as much as the price that is paid 
for them for sugar making. In France, almost twice as many beets are grown for 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



77 




SUGAR 



BEET 



MOLASSES 



Showing relative quantity of granulated sugar and of molasses obtained from a beet. About on©, 
half real size. Determination by G. W. Siiaw, Oregon Experiment Station. Engraved from a photo 
graph used to illustrate his bulletin, No. 53, April, 1898. 



78 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

Stock food as for sugar. In that country the leaves are sold to adulterate tobacco and 
it is said that in some cases fully enough to pay for the expenses of cultivation. 

SOILS FOR THE SUGAR BEET. 

This plant thrives on a wide variety of soils. In Virginia, a warm clay or slaty 
soil, mixed with some sand and having a depth of 15 inches or more, gave the best re- 
sults. In other states where the industry is not yet established, experiment shows 
that the plant thrives on nearly all kinds of lands. But never select poor land — use 
the best soils available. It seems to do best in these regions on whctt farmers ordina- 
rily call good potato or corn land. The soil must be well drained, for while the beet 
requires abundant moisture during the growing period, it does not thrive with "wet 
feet." It therefore does much better in some soils than in others. The soil must 
possess good depth, for the beet is a deep-rooting plant, going down 12 to 18 inches. 

In ITebraska, the best soil to produce a large tonnage is the so-called bottom land. 
Hilly land produces generally a better quality, but does not come up as well in quan- 
tity. The more lime the soil contains the richer the beets would be. Under no cir- 
cumstances should seed be planted in soil which is sandy enough to blow. In Utah, 
and also in the Pecos valley, where one has plenty of water for irrigation, a nice 
aandy loam is preferred, but if the water supply is scant a clayey soil is better. 

In California, the rich, strong, sandy loams that produce heavy crops of wheat 
and barley yield 15 to 25 tons of rich beets per acre under proper rotation, but lower 
lands, when well drained of wet or that enjoy natural sub-irrigation from the lower 
stores of water, are often still better. It has been found at Chino that even when the 
lower or more moist lands contain as much as 12, 000 lbs of alkali salts per acre to the 
depth of three feet, the beet does well in yield and quality, provided the amount of 
common salt in the soil does not exceed 0.04 per cent or 1500 lbs per acre to the depth 
of three feet. But it is wisest to verify on a small scale the adaptability of doubtful 
land before planting a large area of it. 

New land, by which we understand land that has only been broken one or two 
years, should never be chosen fur beets, as it produces a crop inferior in yield and 
quality. In Utah, the best results in sugar and purity are obtained from land that has 
been in small grain and the best tonnage is obtained from land that has previously 
had potatoes. Alfalfa land is good for beets, provided two crops of small grain are 
tirst grown upon it to get rid of the roots. For preparing new land for beets, noth- 
ing is better than to first plant alfalfa or field peas, the latter to be plowed under 
when in flower. Sage brush or mesquite land is excellent, provided it is thoroughly 
subdued bj' preparatory crops, and can be irrigated. 

It is also important that the soil be such that the beets can be easily extracted 
from the ground by a beet puller or plow without breaking the root and without hav- 
ing a lot of soil adhere to it. In this particular, the sandy loam is ideal. To dig the 
root from a clay or adobe soil is hard work; in such soils the beet tip often breaks off 
when ripe, and much soil adheres to the beets, thus adding to the freight and to the 
"tare." 

ROTATION OF CROPS. 

This is highly important. Beets may do well year after year on the same land, 
especially if properly manured, but the constant draft upon the soil for the same pro. 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



79 



portions and kinds of food which this plan involves, must soon impair results. Three 
crops in succession in Nebraska's rich soil showed marked deterioration in quality. 
Constant cropping with beets also tends to perpetuate or multiply any pests (insect 
or fungus) of this plant. It is true that beets have been grown continuously on the 
same land in California for a dozen years, without apparent injury lo yield or qual- 





TYPES OF SUBSOIL PLOWS 

To follow in the furrow after the first plowing by ordinary plows. 




GANG PLOW ^VITH SUBSOILING ATTACHMENT. 

ity, but this does not gainsay the axiom above laid down. Thus far, best tonnage 
and quality have been secured in California from beets grown on the land every third 
year, and in Nebraska every fourth year. 

New land should be subdued, as stated on Page 78, before being grown to beets. 
This crop should always follow corn or small grain, because these being harvested 
early, the land is free for the fall plowing that is absolutely essential to best results 
■with the beet. In Nebraska corn does not seem to do well after beets, neither 



80 THE SUGAR INDUSTKY. 

should potatoes or other gross potash -feeders immediately precede or follow beets. 
The best rotation in Nebraska is (1) beets, (2) wheat or oats, (3) corn, (4) wheat or 
oats or barley, (5) beets. If beets are wanted every third year, the Nebraska rotation 
is (1) beets, (2) small grain, (3) corn, (4) beets. Utah experience with rotations is 
limited. 

In northern California, beets follow barley most admirably, wheat being the next 
crop— (1) beets, (2) wheat, (3) barley, (4) beets. Much is yet to be learned about 
the best rotations under American conditions, but one including one or two crops of 
clover or alfalfa will usually be found excellent. Instead of giving small grains the 
second year, a few Nebraska farmers prefer to allow the land to remain fallow, plow- 
ing it five or six times to prevent a growth of weeds, then cultivating only in spring 
before seeding. 

FEEDING THE PLANT. 

The sugar beet has thus far been mainly grown in America for commercial pur- 
poses on comparatively virgin soils at the west without fertilization. In Europe, on 
the other hand, the liberal use of fertilizers is essential. It is already being found 
that even our virgin soils will deteriorate if there is not put back upon the laud the 
plant food taken from it by the crop. While the beet takes comparatively large quan- 
tities of plant food from the soil, much of this can be returned to the land if the 
pulp and tops are fed to stock and the solid and liquid excrement applied to the soil. 
The lime cake and the bone black from the sugar factory should also be used. 

▲TBRAGE QUANTITIES OF PLANT FOOD REMOVED IN 1000 POUNDS EACH OF BBKT ROOTS AND BKKT LEAVKg. 

Roots Leaves Total 

Constituents lbs lbs lbs 

Potash, 3.S 6.5 9.8 

Phosphoric acid, 0.8 1.3 2.1 

Magnesia, 0.5 3.0 3.6 

Total ash*, 7.1 18.1 86.2 

Nitrogen, 1.6 3.9 4.6 

*The ash includes a large proi>ortion of lime. 

It will be seen that the leaves contain more than twice as much of the principal 
elements as do the roots. Hence, the wisdom of leaving them on the field, if not fed 
to stock. Magnesia and lime are supplied to the soil at low co.st in the form of lime 
cake. The plant requires much lime, and if it is not sufficiently present in the soil 
its absence must be made good. The plant is a most liberal feeder of potash and ni- 
trogen, its demands tor phosphoric acid being comparatively limited; hence, the wis- 
dom of applying fertilizers containing an excess of potash and low in phosphoric acid. 
We would especially emphasize the importance of potash, for even if the pulp is fed to 
stock and their manure applied to the land, more or less potash is lost in process by 
leaching or in the molasses, etc, as well as by failure to utilize all the liquid manure. 
Potash and phosphoric acid can be used very freely on beet fields and seem to do bet- 
ter together than when applied separately. This is not so with [nitrogenous manures 
or ammoniated substances, which tend to produce a quick and heavy growth of the 
beet and thus diminish its sugar content. As a general rule, it will be found that in 
the older and more exhausted soils, the generous use of fertilizers or manures is ad- 
visable, as the land must be made rich. On the newer soils at the west, just what 



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fi2 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

fertilization is best is yet a subject of experiment and much is also to be learned 
about fertilizers on old land. 

In all cases, the crop .seemed to do best if the ground was manured the second 
year before the season the beet is to be raised. Well-rotted stable manure to be 
plowed under is advisable and in Nebraska results in groatly increased tonnage. In 
Utah, on the other hand, there has been a disposition among growers to put too much 
manure on their land, obtaining tonnage at the risk of quality, because beets of such 
gross growth do not ripen well. Even on the apparently inexhaustible soils at Chino. 
fertilizers have proven effective. "Green" or fresh stable manure should be plowed 
under the previous fall; better still, ai)ply it to the previous crop. The main point 
is to have the soil well (illed with available plant food in proper forms. 

Elaborate experiments have been conducted along this line in Europe on the old 
soils of Europe, which Wiley thus summariy;es: "As for the relation which the quan- 
tity of material returned should bear to the quantity abstracted, it may be said in 
general that it is desirable to return as nmch nitrogen, one and a quarter to one and 
one half times as nmch potash, and two and a half times as nmch phosphoric acid as 
has been abstracted. The greater additions of potash and phosphoric acids have no 
disadvantageous effects u])on the crop. Direct investigations in regard to the rela- 
tion Vjetween the sugar and potash in consecutive crops for many years have failed to 
give the least ground for a contrary conclusion. But it must not be expected, on the 
other hand, that increasing fertilizations, especially potash fertilization, will produce 
proportionately increasing croi)s, as lias b<!en asscu-ted by some. 

"The opinion has generally prevailed among beet growers during late years that 
heavy nitrogenous manuring, especially with nitrate of soda, produces no injurious 
effect on the quality of tiie beet. This oi)inion was basea on the fact that in such 
beets the sugar per cent was only slightly diminished. Nevertheless the quality of a 
beet may be impaired even with little or no diminution of the sugar content by rea- 
son of the increase of the percentage of non-sugars present. It has been shown that 
heavy manuring with nitrogenous substances greatly injures the quality of the beet 
for sugar-making purj)oses. " 

It is true that the beet is not an exhaustive crop, j>rovided all its by-products are 
returned to the soil, but we lear that this will not be done in America for some years, 
meanwhile there is danger that failing to thus n^store to the soil what is taken from 
it, farmers may get the idea that the beet will not exhaust the land, and that it can 
bo grown in defiance of the fundamental i)rinciples of agriculture. This error should 
be guarded against by liberal fertilization. 

PLOWING. 

Immediately after harvesting the small grain, plow shallow (two or three inches) 
in order to i)revent the weeds from going to seed. When this is done, spread the field 
with stable manure (if any is to be used) and in the fall plow deep. This deep 
plowing is very important, because the beet is thereby enabled to penetrate into the 
sub.soil without nuich olwtruction, tiius ])reventing it from growing out of the ground 
and allowing it to extract considerable nourishment from the lower soil. The deep 
plowing will also give clean ground and will make it ready for early planting and 
thus insure a large tonnage. The best way to accomplish this is to plow 8 to 20 



THE BEET SUOAR INDUSTRY. 



83 



inches deep with an ordinary plow, follow it with a good subsoil plow that will stir 
the subsoil to a depth of 5 to 7 inches more, thus givinjj an open soil to a depth of 14 
to 17 inches. This subsoiling is often neglected, but it is essential for two reasons: 
(1) It gives a deep soil for the beet root to grow down into draining its food from 
the lower depths, and also preventing tlm top of the root from growing out of the 
ground; this makes a smooth conical beet of moderate siz(\ richest in sugar and 
easily harvested. WIhmi the land does not freeze, as in California, this plowing should 
be done two or four months before seeding. 

In case the plowing has not been done in tlio fall, plow as (^arly in the spring as 
the ground will do to handle without sticking, for thnn; n^asons : 1, Uecauso the 
sooner the weeds are encouraged to grow, the more of them can bo killed before 
planting the beets; 2, because land plowed while the weather is cool will retain the 





OTHER STYLES OF SUBSOIL PLOWS. 



moisture much longer than it will if plowed during warm weatlnu-; '.], because it is 
much better to allow the ground to settle as much as possible aftc^r phjwing and be- 
fore the preparation of the seed bed, so that it will b(u;ome thoroughly i)acked, thus 
insuring bett(!r and (luickor g(!rmination. In tim si)ring n(!V(!r throw up more than 
two inches of soil that haL not bc^eii stirn'd befon;; if your soil has novcr bccMi j)Iowed 
over six inches, it is bcitter to use a sul)soil plow to looscui tlu! ground to IIk! jyroper 
depth. These instructions ref(!r only to spring jdowing; wIhmi good land with deep 
soil is plowed in tlie fall it makes little dilfcrcnce how much new soil is turned up, 
as it would decay in winter through the action of the frost, but on tliiniuir soils, this 
trouble can always be obviated by the subsoiler. 

After spring plowing, harrow, or better, drag oucv, immediately, and tiien leave 
the ground as it is until the time to prei)are the seed bed, thus allowing the w(hm1s 
to sprout. If the i)reviou3 crop was corn, it is absolutely necessary to take the stalks 
and roots off the ground in the right manner in order to permit of easy and proper 



84 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

horse cultivation ; it will not do to plow the stalks under, however, as it cannot be 
done effectually, the cultivator-knives bringing them back to the surface once more, 
and at the same time dragging along with them more or less of the small beet plants. 
The best way is to remove the mold-board from the plow, which will enable you to 
loosen the roots without turning the cornstalks under. Then gather them up with a 
hay rake into piles and after burning as much as possible haul off the remainder. 

In many soils in California, a sour clay is brought to the surface by deep plowing, 
which is injurious to the beet because of its acidity. This should be neutralized by 
the use of about two tons of lime per acre broadcasted on before harvesting. In Cal- 
ifornia, the spring cultivation of the plowed land is done with an implement fur- 
nished with long, narrow teeth that reach to the bottom of the plowing. 

MORE ABOUT SUBSOILING. 

This work is so important, especially in drouthy regions, that more detailed dis- 
cussion of it is in order. 

Subsoiling consists of a loosening or a breaking up of 8 to 20 or more inches 
of the soil below the depth of ordinary plowing. In true subsoiling the lower 
layers of soil are not thrown out on top. When the prairies of the west 
were first plowed, it was sometimes thought desirable to break the sod 
very shallow; then by following in the furrow, with the plow so made as to 
throw the comparatively mellow second furrow on top of the first, a layer 
of loose ground was obtained in which seed could be planted. This so-called 
subsoiling is in reality nothing but deep plowing, and is practicable only in a new 
country, or in the breaking up of meadows or pastures which have an exceedingly 
compact turf. In practice, land to be subsoiled the first time is plowed to the accus- 
tomed depth. The subsoil plow folloivs in tlie furrow of tlie ordinary plow, and is 
run about eight inches deep. If it is thought desirable, the work can be still more 
completely accomplished by subsoiling crosswise, running the subsoil plow the sec- 
ond time a little deeper than during the first operation. The entire subsoil to a 
depth of 12 to 14 inches, depending upon the depth of the first plowing, is thoroughly 
loosened, and so broken up that plant roots can easily penetrate it and rainfall is 
readily absorbed. When the same land is subsoiled again, run the plow about four 
inches deeper. 

The main benefits derived from this practice are: 1, The upper layers of soil are 
broken up and placed in a condition to absorb and hold a maximum amount of water. 
2, Natural rainfall is taken up an J retained until needed by the growing crops, 3, 
Heat and air are enabled to permeate the subsoil and render available the plant food 
contained therein. 4, The loosened ground acts as a vast reservoir for storing soil 
moisture. 5, Stirring the hard subsoil breaks up the capillary tubes and prevents 
wasteful evaporation. 6, During the wet season the openings made by tha subsoil 
plow allow the excess of water to escape to lower levels. 7, Plant roots are given a 
better opportunity of development. 8, Such crops as sugar beets, turnips, rutaba- 
gas, sweet potatoes, etc, develop more completely under ground, resulting in a higher 
grade vegetable. If the surface of the field is kept loose by shallow culture, tlie loose 
layer will act as a mulch and greatly aid in retaining moisture. Experience and ob- 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



85 



Eervation have shown that the season, wet or dry, warm or cold, determines whether 
crops will be heavy or light. Any treatment, therefore, that will counteract the un- 
even conditions of a season, even partially, will increase the yield, Subsoiling and 
surface cultivation have a marked effect in counteracting the disastrous results of 
drouths. The benefits of subsoiling, however, will depend almost altogether upon 
the nature of both the surface soil and that lower down. 

Where the subsoil is very loose and porous, subsoil plowing may be a decided dis- 
advantage, in that it forms larger passages through which the natural rainfall will 
escape. If it is not a disadvantage, it often is of no benefit from the fact that the 
subsoil IS already sufficiently loose to retain the greatest.amount of moisture. Fields 




ADJUSTABLE FOUR-ROW BEET SEEDER. 

This machine plants 15, 20, or 25 lbs. of seed per acre in rows 16, 18 or 20 inches apart as desired, covers 

tlie seed to an even depth, and firms tiie soil al)ont the seed. On large 

areas such a macltine is Indispensable. 



underlaid with a compact subsoil or hardpan, or those which have been plowed at 
the same depth for a number of years, forming a hard layer at the bottom of the fur- 
row, are the ones chiefly benefited by this mode of culture. This practice on any 
kind of soil, unless it is hardpan, would obviously be unnecessary during seasons 
when rains are sufficiently frequent to furnish the necessary moisture for growing 
crops. During wet weather the operation might result in a puddling of the soil, to its 
great injury. It is only during very dry seasons when its full benefits would be seen, 
but for the past 10 or 12 years in the most prominent grain and vegetable producing 
states, there has occurred in the summer or early fall a drouth which very materially 
shortened the crop. So true is this, that farmers and gardeners in states compara- 
tively free from severe drouths have begun to seriously consider some method of 
bridging over this disastrous period, especially injurious to the market gardener and 
fruit grower. In practice it has been found that unless the soil is unusually compact^ 



bG THE SUGAll INDUSTRY. 

trt/atment once every three or four years is amply sufficient. With increasing drouths, 
however, it may be found desirable to subsoil every two years. The work is most 
profitably done in the fall, as this gives an opportunity for the land so treated to ab- 
sorb the fall rains, winter snows and any moisture which may be precipitated before 
spring plowing is possible. This is specially true in parts of the far west, where 
winter irrigation is practiced. The streams there during early fall or winter usually 
supply sufficient water for irrigating, while during the dry season they fail. 

Admitting, then, that subsoiling ought at least to be tested, the question of ob- 
taining suitable and most desirable plows is important. The common practice, as 
before stated, is to follow the ordinary breaking plow with a plow constructed espe- 
cially for subsoiling, types of which are illustrated herewith. These cost all the way 
from $10 to $18. They can be obtained of any of the prominent plow firms. One 
company manufactures an attachment, or rather a subsoiler, which is substituted for 
the front plow on a four-horse gang. There is no getting around the fact that subsoil 
plows pull hard. In the case of the gang subsoiler, a good four-horse team takes it 
along quite readily, but if the ground is especially hard, ifc would need one or two ex- 
tra horses. With the ordinary subsoiler, which follows in the furrows of the plow, it 
is customary to use two horses, but three or even four are more satisfactory. 

During the past four years many careful tests with subsoiling have been con- 
ducted at American experiment stations and by practical farmers. The results, care- 
fully compiled by Mr C. A. Shamel in AMERicAisr Agriculturist, are somewhat 
conflicting, though only a few were with sugar beets. 

In New York and Kansas no decided advantage was obtained. In South Caro- 
lina on sandy soils, the effect was not appi-eciable. In Indiana and Iowa, the prac- 
tice was advantageous in sugar beet culture, as better formed beets, with a higher 
per cent of sugar, were obtained. Corn in these two states was not benefited. Prac- 
tical farmers in Kansas find subsoiling beneficial. Mr Kelsey of Oakland, Shawnee 
Co, stated to the agricultural board that in 1894 land subsoiled yielded 65 bu of corn, 
while that not so treated produced only 35 bu. Millet on subsoiled land yielded well; 
on untreated it was a failure. The effects last about three years. Subsoil one-third 
of the farm each year. Mr Peckham of Haven, Keno Co, obtained substantially the 
same results. Experiences in Illinois are somewhat difficult to obtain, as but little 
work has been done along this line. In general the facts in this state agree with 
those from Kansas and Nebraska. 

The most marked results are reported from the Nebraska experiment station in 
Lancaster Co, by Prof Lyon, The soil in most parts of Nebraska, and where these 
experiments were tried, contains very little sand and is made up mostly of silt, or of 
the ordinary dark mud so familiar to residents of the corn belt. Because of the small 
amount of sand, the soil compacts quite readily, becoming almost as firm as so much 
clay. It is well supplied with plant food, and when stirred sufficiently deep so as to 
take up water, is very productive. Good results from subsoiling were very marked. 
Land subsoiled four years ago for sugar beets and not treated since, was this season 
planted to corn. A field not so treated lay alongside. Both were upland, with a 
gradual slope toward the east, and consisted of a fine loam with considerable vegeta- 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



87 



ble matter. The results were so marked that the exact row of the subsoiled field 
could be told, because of its superior excellence. The stalks on the unsubsoiled land 
were badly dried up and contained no ears, while those on subsoiled land were large, 
green, and produced a fair yield. Such results are encouraging, and show that with 
very little extra expense good crops can be raised with less rainfall than is generally 
supposed. If the effect is not apparent the first season, it makes itself felt in the 
course of two or three years, the reason being that if very little rain falls after sub- 
soiling, the small amount of moisture sinks rapidly into the soil and is retained there 
until the plant roots need it. After the practice has been started, the excess of wa- 
ter beyond the demands of the soil continues. Subsoiling is especially adapted to 
Nebraska, because the annual rainfall is less than in most arable portions of the coun- 




A HAND PLANTER FOR BEET SEEDS. 

Smaller drills like the one Illustrated have been used with satisfaei ion, but this new No. 5 drill is 

still better and larger, while so simple as to insure the most even seeding and covering. It 

can be regulated to drop any desired number or weight of seeds, at varying 

distances apart, or iu hills ; is equipiied with marker. 

try. Added to this is a very dry atmosphere, and periods of extreme heat accompa- 
nied by high winds. The following conclusions were reached for Nebraska : Subsoil 
plowing, although conserving moisture, does not produce it and is therefore not a 
substitute for irrigation where rainfall is too small to produce crops. Where the sub- 
soil is hard, subsoiling is recommended ; when loose it is not profitable and may be 
injurious. Do not subsoil when wet, as there is danger of puddling the soil, thus 
leaving it in a worse condition than before. Ground subsoiled in the fall has an am- 
ple opportunity of absorbing the greatest rainfall. Subsoiling in spring may be detri- 
mental in extreme dry weather, as the water is partially removed from the young 
plants by the absorption of the dry bottom soil. 

PREPARATION OF SEED BED. 

Land that has been fall plowed must be harrowed as soon as the frost is out of 
the ground and the soil is dry enough to prevent sticking. This work will level the 



S8 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY, 

ground, thereby holding the moisture in the soil, and increase the germination of the 
weeds, etc. To secure a good crop, it is absolutely necessary to kill all the weeds ia 
the ground before seeding. Here is where most failures occur, and if weeds are al- 
lowed to get a start, the cultivation of the crop will involve much unnecessary and 
expensive hand work. Therefore, to prepare a good seed bed, we advise working the 
soil four to five inches deep with a pulverizer, or better yet, with a corn cultivator, 
once lengthwise and once crosswise, making sure not to miss any spot in the field, as 
it is necessary to loosen any weeds that may have already sprouted. In California 
this has to be done whenever the weeds may start. Then harrow lengthwise and 
crosswise to level the soil perfectly and finish killing the weeds. After this, pack the 
top soil to a depth of two to three inches well with a heavy roller; never use a plank 
float for this work, as floated ground is never well packed, and will besides increase 
blowing and washing. The better the soil is packed after the weeds are killed, the 
better the beet seed will sprout. All the above work must be performed at a time 
when the ground is'in good working condition : that is, not too damp, as the working 
of wet soil must be strictly avoided. As beet seed requires considerable moisture to 
germinate, it would also be a great loss to the beet grower to allow the soil during the 
preparation of the seed bed to dry out; therefore in dry weather or in an average 
season, the field must be prepared and seeded the same day, this being the only way 
in which the moisture can be kept in the ground under the usual west conditions — a 
great feature in crop raising and especially so in beet culture. 

To prevent the soil blowing, which is very disastrous to the small beet plants (in 
Nebraska, even the best black bottom land will blow, if level and fine, which it must 
be to secure a good crop), run a light harrow over the field, after rolling but before 
seeding. This harrow must be very light and can be easily constructed and without 
much expense by using 2x2 pine pieces for the beams and large nails for the teeth, 
only letting them project below the beams H to 2 inches. This harrow must simply 
scratch the soil (not over half an inch deep), thus giving a rough surface, which will 
prevent blowing except on dry, sandy soil, on which, for this reason and some others, 
sugar beets should never be planted. The soil must not be loosened again by a deep 
harrowing, as this would injure the germination. 

There is a tendency to neglect some of these various preparations of the soil, but 
except on certain lands particularly adapted to the crop, every step above enumer- 
ated is essential. Too much (;are cannot be devoted to the preparation of soil and 
seed bed, for upon it success largely depends. Even if the season is unfavorable, the 
crop will do enough better on a well-prepared soil to pay for the labor, while in a 
favorable season, this work will yield a handsome dividend. It will be seen that 
such preparation is directly contrary to the careless way in which the land is usually 
worked for field crops. Right here is where beet culture differs from that of almost 
any other crop. It involves intense farming of the highest type. Not one of the old 
market gardens about New York, Philadelphia, or other eastern cities is more care- 
fully worked than the sugar beet requires for best results. 

SEEDING. 

To secure> a full yield, it is absolutely necessary to have a good stand. It is much 
easier to thin out surplus beets with a good stand, than to have to plow under the 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



8d 



entire patch and replant it in case of a poor stand. It is desirable that when the 
plants come up they should nearly touch each other, but there is no necessity of over- 
crowding, as this occasions extra labor in thinning out. Or the seed may be planted 
at a distance of three or four inches in the rows in groups of three or four seeds. 
Formerly only 10 or 15 pounds of seed per acre was sowed, but American experience 
during the past six years has emphasized the importance of sowing at least 20 lbs of 
seed per acre. Then, should the weather be dry, the best seed will come up first and 
there will be enough for a good stand. On the other hand, should a crust be formed 
»n the field after a heavy rain, one plant would help the other to break through the 




PLANET JR. NO. 



11 DOUBLE W^HEEL HOE CULTIVATOR, 
RAKE AND PLOW. 



ground. It is easier to do a little extra thinning than to replant. If seeding a small 
patch by hand, less seed will be required if the work is done carefully. 

Almost any garden drill can be adapted to sowing beet seed, but for larger fields 
the four-row horse drill is used. Seeders made especially for this purpose, seeding 
tour rows at a time and dropping the seed continuously in rows 14 to 19 inches apart, 
(according to the fertility of the soil) will plant 10 to 12 acres per day. Never plant 
over three-fourths of an inch deep, but see that the earth is well packed around the 
seed by the press wheels attached to the back of the drill, because by pressing the 
surface the necessary moisture for germinating in a dry season is drawn by capillary 
attraction out of the deeper soil. The heavier the soil and the earlier the planting, 
the shallower must the sowing be in order to prevent the seed from rotting in the 
ground. The deeper the seed is planted, especially in heavy soil, the weaker the 



90 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

plants will be if they come up at all. Therefore avoid deep planting, which invaria- 
bly gives a poor stand. The least covering of moist earth, well packed about the seed, 
is sufficient to sprout it. 

The rows may be 10, 12 or 14 inches apart if it is intended to weed out by hand; 
or 18 to 21 inches if the horse hoe is used. 

Time for planting is when the soil is warm enough to germinate the seed. This 
is usually about two weeks or so earlier than the average farmer would think of plant- 
ing corn. In California it may be any time from January to June, in the central 
west from April 20 to May 20 , further east May 1 to June 1, and for the south March 
1 to May 1. Ko hard and fast rule can be laid down ; the intelligent observer can 
judge from the season and condition of soil. The young plants should show in 7 to 
21 days, according to the season. If the stand is poor, cultivate it out and reseed the 
whole field; or replant the poor spots. 

Parties growing a large acreage and not having very much help, will do well to 
plant the crop in sections, at intervals of one week apart, in order to gain more time 
for thinning; however, do not plant too late, for in that case the beets will not be 
strong enough when the, dry season sets in, and will therefore suffer from the drouth, 
while the earlier and consequently stronger plants will thrive well and a heavier and 
better crop be insured. You had much better hire help during thinning time than 
to plant too late. 

If beets are planted at great distances apart, they become large in size and freely 
absorb salts from the soil. To avoid this it is necessary to plant close together, thus 
dividing the available salts in the soil. Sugar is largely formed in the beet from the 
air through the leaves, and these should be many in number and of fair size, hence it 
will not do to overcrowd the plants. 

CULTIVATING. 

This work is performed with one-horse cultivators, which work one, two or four rows 
at a time. If after sowing, a heavy rain should cause a crust to form on the field, 
the light harrow pi-eviously described to prevent soil blowing is recommended; but this 
only in case the seed has not germinated, as otherwise it would be better to run the 
cultivator over the field, following the rows, which can be done easily before the seed 
is up, as the marks of the press wheels can be plainly distinguished. This work, how- 
ever, can be better done by hand hoes (11 inches wide; see Hoeing). As soon as the 
beets break through the ground and the rows can be followed, the cultivation must 
begin, the earlier the better, not only to destroy the weeds, but to loosen the soil, 
which permits the air to penetrate, thus forcing the growth of the beet and improv- 
ing the quality. 

It is very important to kill the weeds before they get above the ground, or at 
least before they become well-rooted. This can be easily accomplished by cultivat- 
ing the field with the flat shovels every eight or ten days, care being taken to set the 
knives as close as possible to the rows, and never over two inches from the rows as 
long as the beets are small. As the beets grow older, however, the shovels should be 
run gradually farther away from the beets, and also deeper, until the leaves meet in 
the center of the rows, by which time the cultivation should have reached a depth of 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 91 

6 inches, and should then cease, as the beets are ready to lay by. Besides destroying 
the weeds, this repeated cultivation prevents evaporation from the deeper soil, and 
secures a good and healthy growth. Never hill the beets, as level land keeps the 
moisture best. 

Keep the horse cultivator going whenever weeds appear, or a crust forms, until 
the beets have grown so large as to prevent this work, when they may be " laid by." 
In Utah and California, four cultivations and one hand hoeing, besides one spacing^ 
and thinning, is all the crop requires, but in Nebraska winds and drouth may necessi- 
tate more work on the crop. Frequent stirring to a depth of two or three inches is 
one of the best means of px'eventing loss of moisture from below during a dry spell. 
This point cannot be too carefully observed whenever a drouth threatens, and if this 
cultivation is well and frequently done, the crop will stand quite a severe drouth 
without much injury, if the ground was previously prepared as described on Page 83. 

Hoeing has been rendered more effective and less expensive by the use of the 
various horse hoes and cultivators illustrated, but the use of these machines is to b» 
supplemented in the field with the hand hoe. Great care must be exercised in using 
any cultivating machine, for if the setting up and use be not carefully looked after, 
the weeds will not be extirpated, while whole rows of beets may be cut down. Fre- 
quent hoeing and cultivating cannot be too highly recommended, for, as they say in 
Germany, "sugar is hoed into the beets." In Knauer's experience (Germany) a plot 
hoed once yielded 7 tons of beets per acre, twice gave 8 tons, three times gave lOf 
tons, four times gave 12i tons, while a field hoed five times yielded over 13 tons of 
dressed beets per acre, thus doubling the yield over the plot hoed only once. 

It w;ill be seen from the foregoing that flat culture and rows is the universal rule 
at present in America. Mr Lewis S. Ware, editor of The Sugar Beet, states in that 
paper for January '97, illustrating a French machine for harvesting beets in hills: 
"We have on many previous occasions urged that hill cultivation should be given a 
fair trial ; it enables the tiller to get from beets most satisfactory results. The objec- 
tion, evidently, is that special agricultural implements are needed. In Europe, the 
rows on hills are either single or double; when single, the harvesting with ordinary 
plow may give good results, but it is very much more expensive than it would be 
with a special double row harvester. When in single rows on hills the distance be- 
tween rows is 21ito 23^ inches; when in double rows on hills the distance is 9 to 11 
inches, while the hills are at distances which vary from 27 to 31 inches. There can 
be no doubt as regards the yield in hill cultivation ; it is equal and, in many cases, 
is superior to flat cultivation, as the roots in growing find less resistance to overcome 
and have their plant food within easy reach, and through the soil there is a better 
circulation of air; furthermore, there need be no evil effects from badly drained or 
damp soils which, under ordinary conditions, are almost worthless." 

This point is worthy the attention of American growers, though the fact that flat 
culture and drills have thus far been universal, indicates that they are generally satis- 
factory. One thing is certain, that hilling should not be practiced on dry and warm 
soils, for there it can only work harm. Hilling up may be of benefit on cold and wet 
soils, but these are properly treated by drainage. Of course if the soil gets washed 



92 THE SUQAB INDUSTRY. 

away from the plants, the earth should be drawn up about tnem, as that portion of 
the beet that shows above the soil is of inferior quality. 

HOEING. 

The first hoeing, which is very important for the growth of the small plants, 
must be given with an ordinary 11 inch hoe between the rows, going li to 2 inches 
deep, and as soon as the beets break through the ground, or if crust is formed, as 
soon as this occurs, following the press wheel marks. 

As the ground will have become packed during the bunching (or spacing) and 
thinning, thus preventing proper circulation of air, and the young plants, moreover, 
will have become weakened by their disturbance ; and for the further reason that it 
is cheaper to do it then, the second hoeing should be given with a 7-inch hoe the day 
after the beets are thinned, and never later than a few days after, care being taken 
to kill the weeds out close to the plant, but in such a manner as not to loosen or 
injure the beets. As the horse cultivator only loosens and clears the ground between 
the rows, the hoe must perform this work between the different plants. This hoeing 
should be 3 inches deep. A similar hoeing may be necessary twice after this, the last 
depending upon the freedom from weeds, also upon whether the ground is loose 
enough to enable the roots to grow. Both of the last hoeings should be as deep as it 
is possible to make them without injuring or loosening the plant. Under ordinary 
circumstances no work should be necessary in the field after 80 days from the time of 
planting except the final and deepest horse cultivation. 

THINNING OUT. 

Care should be exercised in doing this part of the work, as it is the most impor- 
tant of all the cultivation and care of the crop. It can only be neglected at the 
expense of yield and quality of crop. It is very necessary that this should be done 
just at the right time, and the sooner it is done the better for the growth and yield 
of the crop. As soon as the beets have four leaves, they should be thinned, and must 
not remain longer than one week without thinning, as the roots will entwine around 
each other if left longer, and make the thinning detrimental to the plant that is left. 
To perform this work, the beets should be spaced or bunched (directly after a horse 
cultivation) with an ordinary 6-inch hoe, cutting 6 inches of beets out and leaving a 
2-inch bunch, containing from three to six beets. After the beets are bunched, the 
healthiest plant in each bunch is selected by the thinner to be left standing, his 
finger is placed firmly against it to prevent its being disturbed, and the other plants 
are pulled out by hand, together with all the weeds nearby. This operation will 
leave one strong single plant every 9 or 10 inches, and the ground should be pushed 
up well around each, but not packed. Of course, it is better to select the strongest 
and most thrifty plant, even if it is not at the regular distance, than to chose a weak- 
ly or spindling one at just the right distance. 

If thinned when only four leaves are on the plant, the top soil is still moist, and 
the beets left have no difficulty in taking hold and growing with renewed vigor, but 
the disturbance occasioned by thinning a few days later is not so easily overcome. 
The top soil is then dryer, and the young beet receives a set back that will certainly 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



93 




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THE SUGAR IKDUSTRY. 




PLANET JR. TWO-HORSE 
CULTIVATOR. 



affect the yield. Where weeds or insects are not to be feared, the spacing may be 
done a few days before thinning. 'On the other hand, if there is any reason to fear 
loss of the young plants, it is more prudent to wait a little longer before doing the 

work of spacing, and in this case thinning should 
follow spacing without any interval. If the laud 
is very rich, the final plants are left as near 
together as 6, 7 or 8 inches, while in Utah, 
under irrigation, the plants are even thinned 
to 4 inches. The distance apart at which the 
beets are left depends not only upon richness 
of the soil, but upon the probabilities of its 
having sufficient moisture. In the rich moist 
land the beets can stand closer together than on 
dryer and lighter soils. By spacing with a 
hoe a more regular distance is secured between 
each beet, and all the weeds in the row are destroyed at the same time; the crust is 
also broken up that has been formed by the pressure of the wheel of the seeder, 
and it removes any seeds from the row that may not yet have germinated, thus avoid- 
ing, when harvest time comes, the appearance of a lot of small beets that bad grown 
up from these seeds. This spacing with 
the hoe is also apt to increase tonnage and 
percentage of sugar. 

The leaves of the plant are the means 
through which it obtains most of its sugar. 
This substance is composed of carbon and 
■oxygen, both of which are mainly taken in 
by the leaves, the former as carbonic acid. 
Mr Ware, in his great work on the sugar 
beet, summarizes experiments by himself 
and others to show that the saccharine 
content of the beet improved with the num- 
ber and weight of its leaves. "Each leaf 
has apparently communication with a given 
portion of the beet, and supplies it with 
the nourishment it requires. The outer 
leaf corresponds with the inner portion of 

the root; these representing the older leaves, we may conclude that they have fur- 
nished the larger portion of the saccharine elements. During the growth of the leaf, 
the root increases but comparatively little in si^.e, and as soon as completed, the con- 
trary action takes place. Evidently, the greater the size of the leaves, the larger the 
amount of the elements they are able to abstract from the surrounding air, and the 
total weight of the leaves is, up to a certain period, greater than that of the root." 

The smooth and tapering shape of the root desii-ed depends mainly upon the soils 
where it grows and the preparation the soil has received. The variety of seed used 
has of course some influence on shape of root, but the most desirable seed for this 







ANOTHER FORM OF 

CULTIVATOR. 

Tl lis admirable Planet Jr. tool as a beet 
horse lioe, has a one and three-fourths inch 
cultivator tooth, two six-inch hoes, a twelve- 
incli special tlat sweep, and a ]>ulverizer. 
Tlie latter is a very useftil attachment, level- 
ino; and fining the surface and killin„ small 
weeds. 



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;aBSg^*.ia.^icajg.,-: *a^..,, ^j^aaagsst^esiKBta 



96 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

purpose will not give roots of satisfactory form on an unfavorable and poorly pre* 
pared soil. It is senseless to blame the seed for faults in the soil. 

IRRIGATION. 

Utah has solved the problem of growing beets by irrigation. Her experience 
teaches many practical lessons that are being heeded in drouthy or irrigatioa 
regions. Too much water, applied too often or at the wrong times, is bad for tonnage 
and quality. Great damage is done to many fields of beets by inexperienced farmers 
flooding the land and allowing the water to stand about the small plants, then 
neglecting to cultivate until the soil has baked. Even in Utah, it is still recognized 
that the management of irrigation to produce the best results is a delicate matter, 
and not yet fully understood. Untimely irrigation may utterly destroy the value of 
the roots for sugar making, and the necessity of varying the application of water 
according to the nature of the land, in order to secure good results, implies the exer- 
cise of much judgment and experience in the matter. But with due regard to all 
these alleged disadvantages of irrigation, it is the universal judgment of Utah beet 
growers, after six years' experience, that they are far outweighed by the benefits of 
irrigation. The production is more certain, and the harvest more safely assured, 
than where the caprice of heavy rains or excessive drouth has to be contended with. 
The results are always more certain where irrigation is necessary and this is the 
greatest stimulant to proper methods in applying water. 

Mr George Austin, field manager of the Utah Sugar company, has had more 
experience than any other man in growing beets by irrigation. Mr Austin says : 
"After the thinning is done we run a cultivator drawn by a horse through the rows, 
but great care must be taken not to cultivate too deep or hill up the young plants, as 
they require all the air and sunlight that it is possible for them to have. After the 
first cultivation we generally hoe them the second time to clean out all the weeds in 
the rows and remove any surplus beets that may have been overlooked at the time of 
thinning. By this time the beets should be far enough advanced to commence pre- 
paring for irrigation. This we do by using the same cultivator, attaching a small 
6-inch furrower on the rear end, and we cultivate every other row, leaving a nice 
little ditch of sufficient size to carry the water without flooding the beets. The sec- 
ond watering we alternate the rows— this method usually gives enough moisture each 
watering, but this kind of irrigation, however, depends entirely on the slope and 
condition of the land. If the land has much of a slope, and is inclined to be a light, 
sandy loam, it may be necessary to water each row every time you irrigate during 
the season, but the latter is an exception to the rule with us. 

"We never commence irrigating until the beets show they require moisture, 
(usually letting them suffer a few days), and by so doing it always gives us a nice 
shaped, long, tapering beet. If the first watering is applied too early we usually have 
a short, spriggy, undesirable beet. Too much manure or alkali will have the same 
effect on sugar beets. We generally have to make cross ditches on our beet fields on 
about every 20 to 30 rods, depending upon the slope and nature of the land. If we 
run the water farther than this it usually saturates the upper part of the field too 
much, before the lower end gets sufficient. Great care must be taken in turning the^ 



THE BEET SUGAR llfDUSTET. 



97 



water on the beets not to force too much into the furrows, causing it to flood or over- 
flow, and this must be avoided if possible. Therefore it is essential to select land for this 
crop, as much as possible, with a nice slope. We always cultivate the rows after each 
watering as soon as we can, cultivating them from 5 to 6 inches deep. This allows 
the beets to develop, and also helps to retain the moisture much longer than it would 




FREMONT SUGAR BEET CULTIVATOR. 

This Nebraska invention is the result of s'>veial vear*' work in tlie l)eet fields of that state. The 
machine is simple, light, compact and easily adjii'^taiiie for either deep oi shallow cultivation. The 
four spiders provided are used in case the soil becomes crusted on tlie surface, tliereby preventing the 
beets from showing through the ground. There are four knives that are used in cultivating Ihe beets 
when very small. These are different from any used heretofore, and are so shaped as to permit the 
party handling the machine to work very close to the plant jvithout dantrer of eoveriner the plant with 
dirt. The four small shovels are used for the deeper culiivalion, and the two large shovels are for the 
final and deepest cultivation. 




PLANET JR. BEET GROWERS' HORSE HOE. 

T^^™^<^*'i"^ ^^ ^^^" perfected by Utah experience, and is very popular there. The teeth loosen 
the soil thoroughly without throwing earth on the small plants. The little plow at the rear is the "ir- 
ngating tooth, to make a clean furrow through which the water will run for irrigation. 



Otherwise. Care must be taken all through the season not to hill up the beets, or 
break off the leaves. We generally water our beets two to four times during the sea- 
son, and it usually takes about 20 to 30 days after the last watering before the beets 
are ready for harvesting. ' ' 

Mr Morgan Woodhouse, another Utah grower of experience writes: "My idea is 
to let them go as long in the spring without water as you dare, say until the bottom 



98 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

leaves wilt down and the tops begin to change from a light or yellowish green to a 
dark green. After the first watering they should be kept wet. i would not be in fa- 
vor of going to an extreme, but I would not allow them to get dry if I could help it. 
The length of time between waterings should vary, according to the land, from 8 to 14 
days. The last watering should be about the last of August or the first of 
September." 

Another expert, Mr Samuel Taylor says: "I do not believe it is good to irrigate 
too soon. Let your beets get up and get them thinned, letting them have a pretty 
good start. When the lower leaves begin to wilt and the tops turn a dark green, the 
water should be first applied. Of course when you start you must keep it up. Three 
or four waterings will make a good crop of beets. Four are better than three, and if 
you can get four good irrigations on a crop of ueeis I am satisfied they will mature 
and make a good crop. With respect to the last watering ; one year we were told to 
stop watering too early and we lost a great many beets by it. I would water the last 
time about the last of August, if watered up to this date the beets will be all right." 

In Nebraska it is felt that proper irrigation will often insure the crop, but expe- 
rience has so far been limited. Mr F. Wietzer, field manager for the Norfolk fac- 
tory, summarizes the matter for this work as follows: "We have taken much interest 
in irrigation of sugar beets. Last year there was raised 90 acres by irrigation, and 
the results were very satisfactory, as well in quality as quantity. Beets should never 
be irrigated until they show actual need of it. No water should be put on them as 
long as there is a natural supply of water in the ground, for too much water is almost 
as disastrous as not enough. After you have onco commenced putting water on land, 
it dries out more quickly than before and will require watering the second time. The 
number of irrigations that a crop requires during the season depends entirely upon 
local surroundings, nature and condition of land. The first irrigation should not be 
before the middle of June, and no water should be applied after the first week in 
August. Beets should never be irrigated in the fall, for irrigating at that time will 
bring forth new tops and give the roots a second growth, which is disastrous to the 
quality. A very advantageous method of irrigation is this: When the spring is very 
dry, to soak the land from the irrigation ditches, and then as soon as the soil is dry 
enough, x^r^^P^ire seed bed and plant seed," 

Mr Granger, field manager of the Utah Sugar Co, spoke of irrigation at length in 
his address before the Pecos valley beet growers in New Mexico. Among other things 
he said: "As soon as you have commenced irrigating, see that the beet is kept sup- 
plied with sufficient moisture to keep it thrifty. It will take thirty days from the 
last irrigation before you can harvest, usually; on very sandy land twenty-five days, on 
clay land thirty days. This delay is necessary because, when you are through irrigat- 
ing for the last time, the beets are nearly through growing and the sugar is forming. 
When given an irrigation, the sugar in the beets will go down for fifteen days, and it 
will take a little longer to get back again. A great many people ask me how many 
times they shall irrigate. I cannot tell them without seeing the field. When tho 
leaves wilt down in the middle of the day it is not so bad, but when they stay wilted 
in the cool of the evening, give them a drink. Let them suffer a little for water in 
the fore part of the season ; it will force the taproot to reach down for moisture. In 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



99 



irrigating beets, we take every other row, and find that the water wlien run slowly 
will irrigate both. Then we alternate the next time, and run water through the other 
rows, giving the beets moisture on both sides. After every irrigation cultivate as 
deep as you can, practically eight inches. It is necessary to loosen the ground around 
the beet so that it may have a chance to develop. To do this we take a little 
A-shaped sweep, with the point running into the ground, and all it does is to lift the 
ground a little, but it loosens the soil around the beet. In Utah, our water is run to 
us in canals and ditches in which we are all interested, and have turns to use it. 
Only two or three nights before I left home, I found a water notice at my house, 
stating that the water would be given me at 8 that evening and taken off at 4 in the 




THE MOLINE BEET CULTIVATOR 
Can be used to work either four or two rows. The gangs are so adjusted that they can be handled with 
ease, and the shovels are so adjusted as to be run riglit up close to the beets. Tliis cultivator is widely 
used in American beet fields. 



morning. At 4, my neighbor is there, and he takes it. We never have more than 30 
minutes to the acre in Lehi, and sometimes it is cut down to 15 minutes, during 
which the water is allowed us." 

William Bone, Jr, another very successful beet grower for the Lehi concern, says: 
*'I think beets can hardly have too much water at certain times, which can only be 
judged by practical experience. A great deal depends upon the season and the land, 
too. I would not water them until they show that they need it the first time. In 
naturally light land they will stand watering pretty early. They should have at least 
two good cultivations before they are watered at all. In regard to the last watering, 
my idea is with them the same as with any other crop. If you let any crop wither 
and die, it is not good for anyt'ning. It naturally loses its strength and vitality. 



100 THE SUGAB INDUSTRY. 

Water vrill not stop the beets from ripening, that is, unless the land is wet and clayey, 
and of course a person should know better than to water such land late in the season. 
Beets that have been well watered will not be afiEected nearly so much by the late 
storms as those that have not been well watered. My experience is that beets need 
some alkali, but I do not think that very strong alkali land is good for them. There 
is naturally more or less alkali in all our land, unless it is the light, loamy soil. Beets 
like manure. Even here in Utah, all our land needs manure for beets. Of course a 
person can go to an extreme, but as a rule all our lands need manuring. There is one 
thing more about preparing land for beets : I am sure that many of our people tramp 
their land too much. Some of it becomes packed very heavy before the beets are put 
in. After the beets have come up the land cannot be cultivated too much." 

We may add that frequent and thorough culture is the best substitute for irriga- 
tion. With it, the beet will stand quite severe drouth. Daring the great drouth of 
'94, in the valley of the Platte, Nebraska, beets stood the drouth better than corn 
did, for the subsoil is of sand and the water is only 10 to 15 feet below the surface of 
the ground, so that the roots of the beets can almost penetrate to the water. 

HARVESTING. 

It requires about four and one-half to five months after planting to procure ripe 
beets, although in California the time varies from 120 to 160 days. After they have been 
in the ground that length of time, and the outer leaves turn yellow and die down, it is 
an indication that the beets are ripening. The maximum of sugar and purity is usual- 
ly obtained during the month of October over much of the country where ordinarily se- 
vere winters are experienced, but in the Southwest and California, maturity on moist 
and late lands may not be reached until considerably later. The factory usually sam- 
ples several fields before advising growers to enter upon the general harvest. As the 
beets increase in tonnage mostly during the last six weeks of their growth, the har- 
vesting with full force should not be started too early. On the other hand, the beets 
must be out of the ground before hard freezing weather, as alternate freezing and 
thawing injures the sugar content. In case of a severe freeze before harvest is com- 
pleted, it may be best to leave the balance of the roots in the ground for a few days 
until normal weather is restored, as the quick thawing out of the beets might seri- 
ously impair their sugar content. 

The beets may be plowed loose from 8 to 10 days before removing from the 
ground, using a plow with a thin blade, which splits the soil between the rows. In- 
stead of the share it has a narrow blade in the nature of a subsoil point, enough to 
carry it deep into the ground. The use of the plow avoids the injury to the beet 
caused by spades, hoes or shovels, and it is then easier also to remove the b'^et plant 
from the hard soil. Treated in this manner, the roots ripen and gain in weight and 
sugar; the earth adheres less to the root and can be shaken off with ease. In Ne- 
braska, a two-horse puller is used (Page 105) which loosens the beets, but leaves them 
in the ground. Whatever method is employed, the tops are taken hold of by boys, 
who pull the beets and throw them into piles. Another set of boys cuts off the tops 
with a beet knife, and for this purpose, the point of an old scythe set in a handle is 
•bout as good a tool as one can use, or a corn knife. The topping is best accom- 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRT. 



101 



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103 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

plished by a deep, straight cut across the beet without whittling, includii»g the base 
of the rough portion of the top, from which the leaves grow 

It is important that the top of the beet be cut off down to the neck so as to in- 
clude with the top all that portion of the beet to which the stems of the leaves have 
been attached. "The object of removing this portion of the beet is to prevent the 
mineral salts, which have accumulated in large quantities therein, from entering the 
factory. These mineral salts exercise a very deleterious influence on the crystalliza- 
tion of the sugar, and therefore should be removed. They are well fitted for fertili- 
zing purposes and are of more value when left upon the soil than when removed to the 
factory." These tops of the beets, with the attached leaves, are admirable for 
fodder. 

Another important point in harvesting beets is to have them as tree from dirt as 
possible. When beets arrive at the Nebraska factories, an average 50 lbs is taken 
from each load. They are then thoroughly washed and examined to see if properly 
topped, then weighed again, the loss determining the tare. The greater the amount of 
dirt on the roots or the more improperly they are topped, the larger is the loss in 
weight or tare. The farmer not only has to stand this loss but he also bears the ex- 
pense of hauling and handling this unnecessary dirt. Not only that, but the dirt 
adhering to the roots is the finest part of the soil and very often the richest and best 
portion, and in a few years, a surprising amount of soil is thus taken from the land. 
Some careful beet growers not only try to deliver beets as clean as possible, but in- 
stead of returning with their wagons empty, load up with the waste deposited from 
the washer at the factory, which contains not only the rich earth that has been 
washed from the beets, but also the tip ends of roots, etc, all of which possess ferti- 
lizing value of importance. 

Several harvesting machines to both dig and top the beets have been tried but up 
to the past season, all have been discarded. Numerous clever and practical minds ai-e 
at work on the problem and it is probable that a satisfactory machine to take the 
beets from the soil and top them will soon be perfected. There are several very suc- 
cessful machines for simply digging or plowing out the beets, several of which are 
shown in the accompanying illustrations. 

The beets, after being topped, are then thrown into wagons, covered with sacking 
and hauled to the factory, or stored in silos in the ground. In delivering beets 
from the field to the factory, wagons hauled by horses or mules are usually employed 
in this country. It is a question, however, whether a more economical method is not 
possible, when the factory is in the midst of the beet fields. In this case, a movable 
railway with light rails and sleepers, that could be moved quickly and cheaply as the 
beets were harvested, would enable one horse to draw a car containing more beets 
than the ordinary two-horse wagon will carry. An overhead trolley upon which bas- 
kets of beets are drawn by ropes might be used, or on a large scale, where a factory 
is equipped with electricity, a movable overhead trolley employing electrical power 
to push the car along, might be feasible. Beets cannot be hauled by wagon more 
than from 4 to 8 miles without its costing more than the traffic will bear. Of course 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



103 



where they are delivered to the railroad, the loaded freight cars are run by a spur 
track direct to the factory yard or shed. 

Mr Ware says that "A great mistake made by many farmers is not to cover their 
beets as soon as pulled, for if left on the ground they may lose 6 per cent moisture in 
24 hours. Place them in silos, if possible at once, until needed at factory. The loss 
of moisture can attain within a few days 20 per cent, the quality of the juice is not 




THE MATURE SUGAR BEET. 
Plant 150 or 160 days old, Vilmoriii variety, wiili its root system, about oiie-tvvelfth natural size. 
Tliis plate from Bulletin 44, Nebraska experiment station, evidently reduced one-half from larger plate 
in Bulletin 27, Division of Chemistry, United States Department of Agriculture. 

improved, changes take place, and the manufacturer frequently lias considerable dif- 
ficulty in working such beets. The farmer loses, so does the manufacturer. A neg- 
lect of this kind is more serious than most American farmers realize." 

STORING BEETS. 

In the mild climate of California, the beets are dumped in large sheds at the fac- 
tory, or are simply left in huge piles outdoors. The loss in sugar content seems to be 



X04 THE SUGAR INDUSTET. 

comparatively slight for a few weeks, and the beets are worked up before materia) 
injury occurs. 

In the colder climate of Utah, where the temperature goes as low as in any part 
of the United States, it was formerly thought that the beets must be carefully stored 
in expensive silos or sheds. Hence when the Lehi factory was first built, the five 
frost proof beet sheds shown on Page 111 were built— of lumber, the walls being lined 
with straw. Each shed is 500 ft long and 26 ft wide, constructed with a sluice in the 
center so that the beets can be shoveled into it and brought to the factory by water, 
which is not only economy of labor but it gives them a thorough washing. 

Manager Cutler writes: "We have discovered since then, that frost is something 
we are not afraid of, providing that our beets are brought here in a perfect state. We 
have erected since then several platforms, one of which has sides to it, but the top ia 
left entirely open. It is 500 feet long by 34 feet wide, and will hold fully 3000 tons 
of beets. We also have other platforms with a sluice in the center, but without any 
sides, and we use a movable railroad track— as fast as the beets are unloaded the track 
is moved further out, until we have an enormous pile resting on the plank or plat- 
form as above described. This system has worked admirably, and the best beets we 
had stored were those that were left entirely open to the weather. The system of 
storing in large open piles has proven satisfactory under our conditions. We have 
stored some 6000 tons of beets in piles on the bare ground, sluices having first been 
constructed to carry the beets by water to the factory from the piles. When the frost 
came(and we had the temperature as low as 10 degrees below zero in December, 1896, ) 
it froze over the surface of the stored beets to the depth of two or three beets, but 
there was enough vegetable heat generated in the large pile to keep the beets in good 
condition and we have never yet lost a beet from frost. We are more afraid of the 
sun's rays than we are of frost. There was some loss of sugar in the small outside 
layer of beets that was frosted, but it was not enough to be of much importance, and 
the loss is infinitesimal compared with the expense of storing in sheds." 

The two past seasons are the only ones in which this method of storing in large 
open piles without protection from the weather has been tried in severe American 
winters. The author is not yet ready to recommend this method, as a general prac- 
tice, in the severe cold weather and alternating freezing and thawing of a northern 
winter in the middle or eastern states. It should be carefully experimented with un- 
der the conditions in each locality. 

This plan is not feasible on the farm. Even in Utah, the factory authorities have 
preferred that the farmers store their late beets in the field according to the system 
much in vogue in Europe. When this is done, the factory pays the farmer 25 to 35c 
per ton for thus storing the beets and delivering them when wanted. For this pur- 
pose, the Utah plan is to dig a few rows of beets, then to run a tongue scraper down 
the field, making a shallow trench. As the beats are dug and topped, they are thrown 
into this trench and covered with leaves, a furrow is plowed down each side to drain 
off the water, if it should storm, and the leaves are covered with a little dirt to keep 
them from blowing off the beets. The beets thus stored have generally come in good 
condition. Some were frozen, but as a rule, the farmers feel that they can store the 
beets and deliver them at almost any time within two or three months in good condi- 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



105 



tion. At the same time, experience at the Utah factory is rather against trying to 
make too long a run, owing to the possibilities of loss in quality as well as other chances. 
Siloing in the field has to be more carefully done in Nebraska, and after six years* 
experience the Norfolk factory recommends this plan, which is a modification of Eu- 
ropean methods: "In the first place do not harvest your beets until they are ripe, as 
green beets do not keep as well in silos as ripe ones, and besides should you harvest 
when too green they might not contain the necessary 12 per cent of sugar with 80 
purity. In an average Nebraska season no beets should be siloed before October 




THE WALKING BEET PULLER. 

This iomely device is much used. There are several varieties of it. The tool is quite popular In lieu of a better one. 

15th, and if the weather is warm it would be better to wait until the 20th, but in no 
case should the beets be allowed to remain unharvested (and not siloed) until the 
ground freezes. Frost-bitten beets will not keep; therefore all beets that you silo 
must be free from frost and be covered up the same day that they are harvested. 

"We would advise making five to seven silos to the acre, placing not less than two 
tons in each silo. When ready to silo, lift the beets from 40 to 45 rows with a horse 
harvester. These loosenad beets must then be pulled out of the ground by hand and 
thrown in piles. It is advisable, in case the strip you have lifted contains 45 rows, 
to make a pile every six rods the length of the strip, and as this section of the 45 rowa 



106 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

is about four rods wide and six rods long, each silo would thus contain the beets from 
24 square rods (about one-seventh of one acre). To prevent unnecessary handling it 
is advisable to first pull out the beets from the middle of the marked 24 square rods, 
placing them in such shape as to make a vacant place in the center about one rod 
wide and two rods long, then to pull the balance of the beets, throwing them into a 
windrow close to and surrounding this vacant spot. When this is finished, top the 
beets (at the base of the bottom leaves) with one stroke of the knife and throw them 
in the vacant place, making a pile four feet wide and not over three feet high, the 
length of the pile depending entirely upon the yield. After all the beets are topped 
and piled up in proper shape, cover the pile with six inches of dirt, being careful not 
to have any leaves or straw on the beets or mixed with them, and also to leave wide 
open a hole one foot in diameter, every five feet on top of the pile (at least two in 
each pile), for ventilation, as beets will sweat some after siloing. 

"It is generally advisable not to put much more than six inches of dirt over the 
beets in October, but to keep them free from frost you should cover the silo before 
the weather gets cold, say about ten days or two weeks after harvesting, in any case 
before hard frost sets in, evenly, with five to six inches of loose straw, leaving the 
ventilation holes uncovered, and place about two inches of dirt on top of the straw to 
prevent it from blowing away and for the purpose of packing it, as when well packed 
it will best keep the cold air out of the silo. Thus the covering will finally be com- 
posed of six inches of dirt, two inches of packed straw and then two inches more 
dirt. In an ordinary season such covering should keep your beets from freezing, but 
should there be exceptionally cold weather you might find it necessary (in case we 
have not ordered all your beets delivered to the factory by that time) to cover the re- 
maining piles with some long manure. As soon as the covering of silo freezes two 
inches, shut the ventilation holes with dirt and then keep them shut." 

Formerly the farmers were opposed to thus storing the beets, even when paid 30c 
per ton for so doing, but experience in '95 and '96 convinces them that it is an advan- 
tage to the grower also because it gives him a longer time in which to deliver the 
crop. Concerning the way in which beets keep in these silos, Mr Wietzer of the Nor- 
folk factory writes us : 

"Regarding loss in actual sugar of beets kept in silos, we have no actual results, 
but we have found that beets lose very little or nothing of their saccharine matter 
within the first two months after siloing. In the old country, it is no secret that 
beets lose at least 1 to li per cent of saccharine matter during a three months' time 
in silo, mostly in cases when weather is warm. Experiments made within the last 
few years have, however, shown that beets raised without fertilizer lose compara- 
tively very little in silos, while beets raised with nitrate of soda show the greatest 
loss." 

Summarizing the most recent European experience on this point Ware says: "It 
has been demonstrated that the loss of sugar in silos is due to elevation of tempera- 
ture and too much ventilation, the greatest loss of sugar always corresponding to the 
most active respiration of the plant. Fi-om this the conclusion might be drawn that 
by keeping air out entirely the problem could be solved ; but decomposition of the 
roots then would certainly follow. When ventilation is too active, considerable losa 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



107 



of moisture is the consequence; and when this is excessively low the protoplasms 
die, followed by alteration in the beet cells. The most desirable temperature for 
silos appears to be 35.6 degrees to 41 degrees F. Avoid all bruises of roots to be kept. 
is a maxim never to be lost sight of in beets that are to be stored. Twist off the 
leaves, but do not attempt topping." We may add that ^sebraska experience is 




BEET HARVESTER WITH TOPPING ARRANGEMENT. 

This invention of the Jolmson Harvester Co., BMiuvia, Xew York, lias now been so perfected as to do 
its worlt most satistactorily. It digs and lifts tlie beeis, cuts off the lops and delivers tlie topped beets 
at the side of the row ready for factory or silo. This macliine is rapidly coming into general use. It 
will be noticed that the above corrects the reference to this subject on Page 102. 

against the hint in the last sentence, as two handlings of the beets cost more than 
the loss in sugar due to absence of top or necks on beets in silo. 

The system of drying beets has been tried on a small scale in California. In that 
extremely dry and warm climate, the fresh beets when sliced shrink to one-fourth 
their original weight by loss of water in from three to four weeks' exposure to air and 
sun. These topped beets contain from 50 to 65 per cent of sugar and can of course be 
shipped by rail any reasonable distance. The process has only been tried on a small 
scale and great care hai to be exercised to keep the beet chips from fermenting and 



108 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



spoiling entirely. Whether this can be guarded against sufficiently to make the drying 
process practical remains to be seen. Should it prove to be feasible, it is possible that 
such evaporated or desiccated beets might be kept to supply the factories when their 
original stock of beets was exhausted. In the absence of larger tests of this necessity, 
It is useless to speculate about it, and the expense of cutting and drying the beets 
seems to be an almost insurmountable obstacle. 

FEEDING AND STORING BEET PULP, TOPS AND MOLASSES. 

The pulp from the beets after the sugar is extracted, makes an admirable feed for 
all stock — horses, cattle, sheep, swine and poultry. Yet its value for this purpose is 
only beginning to be appreciated in this country, though in Europe the farmers would 
no more think of allowing beet pulp to go to waste than our farmers would think of 
curing hay for fuel. At the Utah factory, a feeding company has contracted for all 
the pulp for a series of years, and have erected adjacent to the factory (so as to save 
all hauling and handling jiossible) a complete system of sheds and feeding pens. Two 
thousand head of cattle are fattened here each season for market. They eat the pulp 
greedily, consuming from 100 to 125 lbs per head each day, besides about 15 lbs 
of hay. These cattle command a very good market, the meat being very juicy and 
tender. The cattle fatten quickly under proper conditions and as the company gets 
the pomace or pulp for nothing, except the cost of removing it from the factory, the 
enterprise is a profitable one. The past season over 1000 sheep were fattened here on 
pulp. At Watsonville, 1700 cattle were fed at the creamery silo, and beets that fall 
from the wagons there ai"e also used as stook feed, whereas it was formerly neces- 
sary to dump the pulp in the ocean to get rid of it. Dairymen pay 15c per ton for 
having the pulp loaded on cars at factory, and 50c to $1 per ton freight, so that it 
costs them 75c to $1.15 per ton, besides hauling from local depot to farm; at these 
terms, they consider it the cheapest and best feed. 

The feeding value of beet pomace depends mainly upon the quantities of protein 
(nitrogenous matter), sugar, starch, fiber and fat it contains, and upon the propor- 
tion of these ingredients that are digestible. The California experiment station's 
analysis of beet pulp may be compared as follows with ensilage of corn fodder and 
green clover : 



TOTAL ELEMENTS OF ANIMAL FOOD IN 100 LBS. 

Beet Clover Corn 



Water, lbs, 
Ash, lbs, 
Protein, lbs, 
Fat or oil, 
Fiber, lbs, 
Sugar, starch, etc. 

Total, 



pulp 


silagt 


90.0 


72.0 


0.3 


2.6 


1.5 


4.2 


0.4 


1.2 


3.1 


8.4 


4.7 


11.6 



70.6 
2.6 
2.7 
0.7 
9.7 

13.7 



AMOUNT OF FOOD DIGESTIBLE ELEMENTS IN 100 LBS 

Beet Clover Corn 







pulp 


silage 


si lag© 


Protein, lbs, 2c, 




1.3 


2.0 


1.4 


Fat or oil, lbs, 2c, 




0.4 


1.0 


0.6 


Fiber, lbs, Ic, 




2.5 


4.4 


6.5 


Sugar, starch, etc, 


Ic, 


4.2 


9.2 


5.6 


Feeding value per 


ton*, 


$2.02 


$3.92 


S3 .22 



*Baserl on 2o per lb for digestible protein and fat 
and Ic for the other ntitrients, on which basis the 
theoretical feeding value of wheat grain figures 
$17.50 per Ion, corn meal $17, potatoes $3, beets 74c, 
mangels $1.52. turnips $2.75, rutabagas $ 2 and car- 
100.0 100.0 100.0 rots $1.82 per ton. 

The protein contains 16% of actual nitrogen, and the ash Is rich in potash and phosphoric acid, as 
also lime and magnesia. These ingredients are got back in the solid and liquid manure of the stock 
that consumes the pulp, so that it has an important manurial value. Indeed, in this way, one can re- 
turn to the soil much that the crop took from it. 

It appears that beet pomace that is nine-tenths water is yet worth for stock feed 
fully half as much as corn silage only 70 per cent water. If the water was dried out 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



109 



of the pulp so it contains only as much as the corn silage, it would be of about equal 
feeding value, pound for pound. But cattle eat only 30 to 50 lbs daily per head of 
silage, whereas they will consume fully twice as many pounds of beet pulp, and thus 
get much more actual nutriment out of the pomace than they do from silage, as both 
are commonly fed. 

For milch cows beet pulp is excellent, though it should not be fed to excess. 
Careful tests at the Iowa experiment station show that the sugar beet is very palata- 
ble and contains no volatile acid injurious to butter. But whether milk is sold or 
butter made, we would not advise feeding beet pomace alone any more than silage 




RECEIVING BEETS AT ALVARADO. 
Sliowing outside of sheds aud pile containing several thousand tons of beets. Observe the long line of teams ready to 

discharge their loads of beets. 

alone; feed also hay or some dry fodder, with cottonseed or linseed meal, pea meal, 
or bran. Always begin feeding the pulp to milch cows in small quantities, say 5 or 
10 lbs at a meal, gradually increasing as the cows get used to it. 

Another advantage of beet pulp as feed is that it can be kept lor months without 
loss of quality by storing in silos. Says Prof Jaffa of the California experiment sta- 
tion : "Sugar-beet pulp is one of the best adaptable materials for silage that the 
feeder can procure. One of the difficulties encountered in siloing is the exclusion of 
air from the mass during the curing. process. With corn, clover or any of the fodders 
used for this purpose, much trouble is at times experienced in properly firming the 
different layers as they are placed in the silo, in order to leave no air spaces in the 



110 THE SUGAE INDUSTRY. 

mass. The reason for this is, that if much air is present, fermentation will be car- 
ried on to such an extent as to spoil a considerable portion of the food. In the case 
of beet pulp, we do not have to contend with any of the inconveniences just noted. 
The pulp as it comes from the diffuser in the sugar factory is in the best possible con- 
dition for siloing. It is wet, the pieces are exceedingly small and the mass is quite 
homogeneous. Hence, when placed in the silo it packs itself and fills up every avail- 
able space, without any intervention on the part of the fillers— a behavior that is very 
different from that of any other food. For this feedstuff, then, a shallow rectangular 
or square silo would answer the purpose equally as well as a deep, round one— the 
style found to yield the best results when corn or clover is siloed. The deeper the 
silo the greater the pressure, and, therefore, the less air remaining in the silo ; the 
circular shape is adopted so as to do away with corners. It is thus obvious that the 
expense attending the construction of the silo for beet pulp would be much less than 
where other fodders are used. In regard to the covering of the material while silo- 
ing, the beet pulp has the advantage over corn and clover in that it covers itself, 
forming a seal, which thoroughly excludes the air. Another point which must not 
be lost sight of is, that when the beet pulp silage is fed, the portions can be removed 
much easier and with more facility than is the case where we are dealing with corn, 
etc. Wherever beet pulp silage has been tried it has met with the best of success, as 
the animals greatly relish it." 

The beet tops and waste beets comprise a considerable tonnage where several 
acres of beets are raised. This material is also excellent for all stocks, imparting a 
rare flavor and color to beef or pork, beside making rapid gains in live weight. Feed- 
ers about Watsonville are especially enthusiastic over the feeding value of this beet 
top waste for hogs as well as cattle and milch cows. Similar reports come from Utah 
and Nebraska, thus fully confirming European experience. These tops will not keep 
so long as tlie pulp will, and the sooner they are consumed the better. The tops 
(leaves), with the neck or upper part of beet that is cut off, constitute about 15 or 20 
per cent at least of the gross weight of the crop, so that a yield of 15 gross tons per 
acre would give about twelve tons of dressed beets and three tons of tops. Many 
European feeders consider this fodder worth as much as the best hay, pound for 
pound. 

Mr Ware says in a recent issue of The Sugar Beet, speaking of Germany: "A fac- 
tory working 40,000 tons of beets per campaign has 22,000 tons of residuum pulp which, 
when dried, weighs 2750 tons, the cost of drying being $5 per ton, or a total of $13,- 
750. The product found a ready sale for $17,200, leaving a profit of $3450. Owing to 
the low market price of molasses, this residuum was mixed with the cossettes during 
their drying. One hundred pounds of fresh cossettes can absorb 6 lbs of molasses, 
the product after drying weighing only 15 to 18 lbs. The money value of beet tops 
and leaves has been determined by analyzing them, and allowing that carbohydrates 
have a recognized market value. According to all calculations made they should not 
be sold for less than $1.60 per ton when considered collectively." 

The molasses residue from beet-sugar factories has not been much fed in this 
country. In Europe, however, it has been generally used for this purpose, about one- 
fourth of the product of many German factories being fed. The great difficulty has 



112 TIIK HU(} Alt INDUSTRY. 

been to find a i»roper fodder with whicli to inix the inoluHHos in order to counteract 
the purging efT<!ct whicli riiohibmis aloiu} (or in conjunction with Honio other feeding 
BtufTH) exerciHCH on cattle when fed with it, even in Hnjull quuntitieH. The latter 
diJIiculty hiiH apparently been mot by mixing the molaHses with a dust or mull ob- 
tained from the moHS turf that j^roWH on peat. Thin moHS turf in obtained by being 
torn ui» or teawid <»ut by a inacliine for making moHS litter called a "Wolf." It is 
taken from the upper strata of high-lying peat moors, and consiHtH largely of the dried 
])ut non-de(M)mi>oH(Ml lil)(!r of the ])]nuiH Sphafpium cuHpidatum and Erioj>horuvi, lati- 
foliurn. 'J'he a(;i<lH contain(Ml in this mos.s tnrf Heem to neutralize the Haltw in the mo- 
lassjs and nMider them harndesH, thus counteracting the severe purging caus(!(l by 
molasseH alone. It in not claimed that this peat stuff itself has any direct fe«Mling 
value, its UHidulneHs being confined to neutralizing the laxity of the molasses. About 
35 lbs of this stuff is used with (J5 lbs (»f molasses, though the proportions vary, and 
theni are several pat(int processes. The stuff has to be mixisd with the molasses while 
hot. It is being largely fed in Germany, wliere great claims are made for it, though 
some feeders «lisp\ite these assertions. It is (claimed to bo much cheaper than tlio 
best fat-produeing foods, k(!e|)S the animal in hcialth, is a good substitute for bran, 
gives a glossy j',pi»earan<H) to the skin, improves <iuali(y and (juantitj' of milk, in- 
creases weight and im|>roveH flavor of nxsit and can be stonMl an uidimited tim<\ 

'I'he average* American farmer will not use any sucth material. He can, how(!Ver, 
mix molasses with cut, straw or liay. (ierman expcirience indi(;ates that the us(! of 
molasses in this way increases the amount of a(^t.ual food elements in the fodder that 
are «Iig«!sted. The straw is cut into sliort chaff and the molasses jxtured over it, 
which is first thinned a little with water. To oviu-y 100 lbs of ch.iff, add 20 ll)s of 
molass(!S. Feed with 15 ibs of cottonseed meal or linseed meal or a larger quantity of 
wheat bran. After cows get used to it they will consume daily 20 lbs i)er head of 
this straw chaff with a relish, besides imcut straw and other coarse stuff. 'J'he results 
are most satisfactory. This feed has been found to bo most excellent for sheep, 
hogs, <;att]e and (wcin horses, but with all stock the feeding witli molasses should be- 
gin with \'^'^•y small doses. Increase i\\(i molass(!s ration very gradually. 

Mr II. M. Allen, who, as manag(!r vi the standard Feeding Co, Nebraska, spesiks 
from lonti experience in the feieding of beets, necks and tops, says: "1 regard it as 
probalile that the profit <leriv(!d from f(M(ding the wast.e pnxUuits of the factory and 
those parts of the IhwI left in the field will be almost as great as the profit from the 
manufacture of sugar. Cattle feeding is a branch of the business that I consider al- 
most as important as sugar manufacture." 

riCKTS OF TIIK IlKET. 

Thus far the most serious obstacles to the production of largo (juantities of rich 
beets in the Unit(Ml States have been unfavorabhi climatic conditions, too much or 
too little rain or drouth, early frosts, too little sunshine with unseasonable weather 
during the growing and harvesting period. What can be done to mitigate these natu- 
ral conditions has been considered in the i)revi<)U8 pages. Tlius far the crop has not 
suffered materially from blights or other fnngus p<wts. He(«ts an* som(*tim»\s liollow 
in tlu* center and in that case lack both weight and cpiality, but this trouble mainly 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



113 



occurs only in soil deficient in plant food. Improper germination can be avoided by 
the use of proper seed and the methods of planting already described. 

Insect pests have thus far not proved extremely destructive. The garden web- 
worm {Eurycreon rantalis) has been perhaps the worst pest. The worm is not quite 
an inch long, pale or dark yellow, marked with distinctly jet black spots. It feeds on 
a great many plants, and has several natural enemies. The worm spins for itself a 
delicate silk cocoon in the debris on the ground at the top of the beet and transforms 
to the chrysalis stage, in which it remains from one to two weeks. The young worms 
devour only the surface and substance of the leaf on the side where they are, leaving 
the veins and opposite epidermis untouched, producing a skeleton leaf. Where the 
tops are not intended to be 
fed to stock, Mr Lawrence 
Bruner, entomologist Ne- 
braska station (Bulletin 10) 
recommends spraying with 
a solution of one pound of 
London purple or Paris 
green in '200 gallons of water, 
applied with the modern 
spraying apparatus, by 
which the poison is dis- 
tributed in a very fine mist. 
The pale flea beetle 
{Systena blanda), varying 
from black to nearly yel- 
lowish white, gnaws the 
leaves full of holes upon 
either side, causing a blis- 
ter-like appearance, like 
leaf spot or leaf blight. 
Spraying with kerosene 
emulsion drove it away and the arsenical spray effectually removed it. Other flea 
beetles and blister beetles are sometimes destructive and if necessary can be destroyed 
as just described. A variety of bugs and a few leaf hoppers are sometimes destructive, 
the most practical remedy for them being to destroy their natural food plant. 

The various cutworms sometimes do much damage by eating off the small beet 
plants in May and June, in Nebraska. All of these cutworms have parasites that usu- 
ally keep them from breeding very rapidly, except when some unusually favorable 
conditions of soil or climate occur. The very best remedy that has thus far been sug- 
gested and tried against cutworms is the use of poisoned grasses, cabbage leaves, or 
clover. This is done by taking these substances and tying them into loose bunches 
and then sprinkling them with a solution of Paris green or London purple, say a ta- 
blespoonful to a bucket of water. Then in the evening scatter these poisoned baits 
over the field between the rows of beets, cabbage, etc. The worms will be attracted 




NEBRASKA SILO FOR BEETS. 

Cross sootlon. Tlii> pile of boets is aliout 4 fret wide and 3 feot hlith 
covered with six liiehos of soil. Hefore severe weather sets in, cover with 
six Inches of straw, and then two Inches of soil. V— Ventilating holes, one 
foot In diameter, every 5 feet. See Pages 105-107. 



114 THE SUGAR I^ifDUSTRT. 

to them, eat and die. These baits should be renewed several times at intervals of 
two to four days, according to the state of the weather and the abundance of the worms. 

BEET SEED PRODUCTION IK THE UNITED STATES. 

At least twenty pounds of seed per acre are required for planting sugar beets. 
At 12 to 20 cents per lb, this represents an investment of $2 to $4 per acre for seed 
alone. When from 3000 to 20,000 acres of land are planted to beets for each factory, 
according to its size, it will be seen that this beet-seed question is a most important 
one. Up to the present time the bulk of the beet seed used in America has been im- 
ported from Germany and Prance. 

Experiments at the department of agriculture's sugar beet station at Schuyler, 
Keb, with later work by H. H. Nicholson at the Nebraska state experiment station, 
and the experience of our western beet growers, warrant the conclusion that Ameri- 
ca can produce its own beet seed. The Utah Sugar Co has 57 tons of mother beets 
laid by for planting for seed purposes early this spring, a sp.mple of this lot being 
illustrated on Page 32. They are packed in dry sand and kept at a low temperature 
to prevent sprouting. These people are now raising quite a large amount of their 
own seed, have met with great success, and expect by 1898 to cease importing beet 
seed into Utah. Of course it is very necessary for those who are experimenting in 
raising beet seed to try small quantities of every variety that comes to their notice. 
Nicholson truly says that "We cannot build up a great sugar industry, stable and in- 
dependent, until we have all its absolute requirements in and on our own home soil. 
We must be free from all possible danger of having our seed supply tampered with, 
and we must develop varieties of beets adapted to our soil and climatic conditions." 
Prof Nicholson considered this matter quite fully in his address to the Nebraska 
beet sugar association, November, '97, from which we quote the following : 

The serious difficulty and the great danger— danger to the industry as a whole— 
in attempting to grow and use our own seed, lies in the lack of proper, I may be par- 
doned for saying the lack of scientific, selection of parent beets. In this question, of 
the selection of mothers, is the key to the whole situation. It is a purely scientific 
question— a question that has been reduced to an exact science by the great breeders 
and seed growers of France and Germany. If we would not meet disaster, we should 
sit at their feet and patiently learn the details of procedure. 

If, for example, Ave select this year our best beets— those that will average 16 per 
cent in sugar— for seed, we will undoubtedly obtain very satisfactory results when 
this seed is planted. By continuing this process year after year we will soon have 
difficulty in finding 10 per cent beets— the average sugar content and purity will be- 
gin to drop, in accordance with a natural law that all animal and plant life, especially 
those cases where special features have been artificially developed, tend to return to 
lower forms. 

To keep ou** beets up to a high grade, then, we must keep introducing props and 
supports in the way of careful selection in regard to specific points. This introduces 
into seed growing the elements of science and of expense and lifts the business into the 
position of a specialty, to be followed only by those content to make it a lifework. 

It is a question, perhaps, whether there is yet a sufficient demand for seed in this 
country to justify the specialist or the capitalist, or both, to enter upon the profession 



116 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

of breeding beets for seed, as that is what it amounts to. Naturally, the business of 
producing the seed begins under and is fostered by the factory management. It is 
greatly to the credit of the American manufacturers that they have thus early taken 
the initial steps. But, as has been indicated, the attendant expense, the necessity 
for special knowledge, and the extreme care necessary at every step, soon throws the 
business into the hands of specialists. 

As has been intimated, the problem presents two important phases, first to pro- 
duce seed of a very high grade, and, second, to maintain this grade against a constant 
tendency to retrogression. The solution of these questions has demanded not only 
the practical experience and skill of seed men, but all the resources of scientific in- 
vestigation. For these reasons there has grown up in the sugar-beet-producing re- 
gions of Europe a class of professional beet-seed growers. Some of these, as Dippe 
Brothers, Knauer and Schreiber, in Germany ; and Vilmorin, Desprez, and Legras, in 
France, have made reputations world-wide and have amassed fortunes in the busi- 
ness. Their methods are based on strictly scientific principles. Details of procedure 
vary according as this or that feature is made more prominent. In no case do 
these, or other reputable growers, allow seed to go on the market until it has reached 
a certain standard of excellence through several years of upbreeding. 

As an example of the extreme care necessary to maintain seed at a high grade, I 
will briefly outline the ordinary practice of the Dippe Brothers, on their extensive 
beet farms at Quedlinburg, Prussia. Assuming, for the start, seed oi the highest at- 
tainable quality. This is planted in the spring in the usual manner and the crop 
cared for in all respects as a good beet farmer would handle a crop for the factory. 
In the fall, at the time of harvest, the beets are carefully examined as to their phys- 
ical characteristics of form, color, size, shape, condition of leaves, and method of 
growth. Those coming up to a standard previously fixed upon are reserved for seed, 
while all others go to the factory. This selection usually reserves from one-sixth to 
one-eighth of the crop as mother beets for the next season. In the early spring of 
the second year, these mother beets are taken from the silo and subjected to a chemi- 
cal analysis, for the purpose of securing, for planting, only those of high sugar con- 
tent and purity. 

The analytical process, in brief, consists in taking a small sample from each indi- 
vidual beet in such a manner as to fairly represent the whole beet— this does not in 
any way injure the root for planting. The juice is then expressed from the sample 
and polarized. In this way, all of the beets reserved the previous fall are divided 
into three classes, viz: First, those that fall below a certain minimum per cent of 
sugar, say 16 per cent, these go to the feed stable; second, those that in sugar con- 
tent run retsveen 16 per cent and 18 per cent will be planted as seed-prodncing or 
mother beets; third, those that run above 18 per cent in sugar will be planted for 
seed to keep up the stock. 

For convenience, we will call these Classes I, II and III, and confine our atten- 
tion to Class II. When this chemical selection has finally been made, the beets in 
Class II are planted. In the autumn the seed stalks are cut, the seed thrashed out, 
cleaned, and put away for the winter. In the following spring— the third from the 
Btart— this seed is planted, but in a manner a little different from the ordinary, inas- 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTKT. 



117 



much as the rows are closer together and the beets are thinned to a distance of from 
three to four inclies, the object being to produce a very small and rich beet. The 
usual summer care is given, and in the autumn these very small beets are harvested; 
another selection on the basis of their physical characteristics is made, and those re- 
tained are carefully stored for the winter. In the spring of the fourth year these 
small and very rich beets are planted for seed production. According to this method, 
seed to be offered for sale comes on the market in time to be planted during the fifth 
year after tlie first steps in its pi'oduction were taken. This plan, or one similar, is 
adopted by all successful seed-growing specialists in the old country. Of course, aft- 
er the first lot is ready for market, each succeeding season furnishes a crop. The 
only long delay comes in 
starting. | . y 

The questions of ex- 
penses and profits can hard- 
ly be touchijd upon in this 
paper. During the four 
apparently unproductive 
y.ears, while he is maturing 
his first crop of seed, the 
seed grower is marketing at 
the factory six-sevenths of 
his beet crop. With the 
har\est of the first crop of 
seed, and thereafter, he will 
have to sell both a crop of 
beets and a seed crop. 

Attempts to reduce such 
propositions to a basis of 
figures are always hazard- 
ous. The main features, in this case, are clear enough that I will venture on some 
approximations as to the amount of land required and the current operations and 
expenses during the four years that the first crop is being prepared for market. 

Assuming that 80 tons of seed are needed to supply the present demand in this 
state, and that we are to attempt to supply this with a well-bred native seed, I will 
follow, in the main, the plan of the German seed growers. We will start the first 
year with ten acres planted with the best seed attainable. Assuming an average 
yield of ten tons per acre, we will harvest 100 tons of beets. Making our selection for 
mother beets will remove from sale about one-seventh, or some fourteen tons. We 
will have for market, then, 86 tons of beets. 

The second year will see the first year's operations repeated in every detail. la 
addition, we have to make the chemical selection of mother beets for planting, from 
the 14 tons reserved the previous autumn, and the planting and caring for, say, one 
acre of seed beets. Assuming now 28,000 beets to be analyzed and selected; two 
chemists, with proper appliances and assistants, can make 4000 tests per day. or this 
selecting can be made in seven days at a cost not to exceed $500, including everything 




CROSS SECTION WISCONSIN SILO. 

See Page 115 for general view of these silos. The pile of beets is about 
6 feet wide and 2i4 to 3 feet high, covered with 18 inches of soil, with a (V) 
ventilating tile every 6 feet that can be closed after the beets have sweated. 



118 THE SUGAR INDtTSTRY. 

thing except the laboratory and its permanent equipment. In this selection we will 
retain one-seventh of the beets, giving us 4000 roots, enough to plant one acre— the 
remaining six-sevenths go for cattle food. We have in operation, then, land as fol- 
lows : Ten acres sown with seed and one acre planted with mothers. 

In the fall the beet crop is harvested, selections made as before for mother beets, 
and the remainder sent to the factoiy. Seed is harvested, cleaned, selected, and 
stored for the next year's use. The books for this season would show a small excess 
of expenditure over income. 

The third year, all operations of the second year are repeated in detail. In addi- 
tion ten acres of choice land will be sown with seed selected from the previous year's 
crop, with the object of producing small and very rich beets. In the fall we will har- 
vest a crop of beets for the factory and to furnish mothers for the next year; a crop 
of seed for further selection, and a crop of small beets of this year's growing. Land 
in use this year: ten acres sown with original seed; ten acres sown with our own seed 
of the previous year; one acre planted with mother beets. The books of this year 
will also show an excess of expenditures over income. 

Fourth year; all of the work of the third year is repeated. In addition to this, 
we plant 100 acres with choice roots from the small and very rich beets grown the 
previous year. This fall we will harvest beets for the factory and for mothers; seed 
for further selection; small, rich beets for final seed production, and from 80 to 100 
tons of seed ready for the market. Assuming 80 tons of seed, and a price of 15 cents 
per pound, the seed product of the fourth year would be worth $24, 000. 

If care has been observed at every step in breeding, this seed ought to be worth, 
by reason of the higher return it will yield both to the grower and manufacturer, at 
least five cents per pound more than foreign-grown seed. Each succeeding year now 
of operation, on the basis and on the scale of these preliminary years, will yield for 
market from 80 to 100 tons of seed, worth from $24,000 to $40,000. 

To actually produce the seed requires, then, the use of not more than 150 acres of 
land at one time. A proper rotation of crops would demand, for seed growing on the 
scale thus briefly and imperfectly outlined, not less than 040 acres. 

Of course, there will be many difficulties to be met and overcome. In tliis state, 
one of these will be the prevalence of winds at certain seasons of the year. It is pos- 
sible that this trouble may be met by planting rows of corn at intervals among our 
seed beets, to act as wind breaks. Certain it is that we shall find some way to meet 
that and similar difticulties. 

European beet growers and manufacturers have established careful rules to secure 
the best quality of seed. They require that the seed must be from the last crop. It 
must be of such quality that 100 large seeds must furnish 150 sprouts, and 100 small 
seeds at least 130 sprouts, these should show within 14 days from the beginning of the 
test. Not more than 20 per cent of lifeless seed will be admitted. Moisture in the 
seed should never be more than 15 per cent of the total weight, because more of it 
causes mold, which injures germinating power. There must be about 45 seeds per 
gram, or about 2i,500 per pound for large seed. 



CHAPTER IV. 
COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

COST AND PROFITS OF BEET CULTURE. 

Experience aflfords widely varying data as to tlie expense of producing beets and 
the profits of tlie crop. In unfavorable seasons, or when growers have not learned 
how to raise the crop most economically, expenses may be comparatively high and 
the yield inferior in quality and quantity, thus making the cost per ton very high. 
Mr Leavitt, an extensive Nebraska beet grower, informs us that his first crop cost 
him $44 per acre to "lay by" until ready to harvest, to which had to be added ex- 
penses of digging and delivering to factory, so that even at $5 per ton they yielded 
but little if any profit on the crop ordinarily obtained. But his sixth successive crop 
(1896) cost only $11 per acre to lay by, and at $4 per ton the crop yielded a substan- 
tial profit. This is probably a greater saving than will occur with the average beet 
grower, but it illustrates in a striking way the jiossibilities of economy in beet pro- 
duction. The value of land, expressed eitlier in rent or interest and taxes, and the 
amount and cost of fertilizers employed, are also varying factors, as well as yie d. 

We caution farmers and capitalists against basing estimates upon extraordinary 
yields per acre, either in quantity or quality. While it may be that the crop may oc- 
casionally go as high as 20 or 25 tons per acre, and return an apparent profit of $40 to 
$60 per acre, that is no more a fair criterion to go by than to judge of the possibilities 
of corn culture on the basis of a yield of 135 bushels of crib-cured shelled corn per 
acre (which was grown in the American Agriculturisfs contest in Marlboro county. 
South Carolina, in 1889), when a fair average yield of corn is 25 bushels per acre. 
Here is the place for farmers to start right, and not to deceive themselves with fancy 
figures. Far better for all concerned to go into this industrj on so conservative a 
basis that their estimates are excelled in actual results, than to start with exagger- 
ated ideas, failing to realize which causes discouragement and disaster. 

On this point Mr Weitzer, field manager for the Norfolk factory reports : "Our six 
years' experience in Nebraska has shown us that seven tons of beets per acre pay for 
all the team work (at 50 cents per hour), all the hand labor (at 1i to 15 cents per 
hour) performed on the field, also for seed, rent of land and machinery and freight; 
all of the yield above this tonnage being clear profit. Ten tons may be regarded as 
an average crop per acre, although much higher yields are made. A good farmer, who 
takes the right care of the crop and selects proper land, should, in an average season, 
raise not less than twelve tons per acre. Our old beet growers even claim to be able 
to raise, in a good season, by using richly manured bottom land, 25 to 30 tons per 
acre, which yield has already been obtained by several parties." 

Valuable information upon this point is furnished by a tabulated statement of the 
experiences in 1896 of 49 growers of 1442 acres of beets for the Norfolk and Grand 



120 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

Island factories, as collected by the Nebraska beet sugar association, and published in 
its Hastings proceedings for 1896. The area harvested by each grower was from S to 
80 acres, averaging about 18 acres to each farmer, exclusive of one who raised 455 acres 
and another with 174 acres. At the time of the Hastings convention, Nov 17, about 
half these beets had been delivered to the factory, the balance being ensiled for de- 
livery later. The reported yield was 17,924 tons from the 1442 acres, or an average of 
i2i tons per acre, ranging from 8 to 20 tons per acre— the larger yields upon the smaller 
tracts. The proceeds for beets sold were estimated at $90,016, or $62. 40 per acre. This 
was based on $5 per ton for beets, of which $4 was paid by the factory and $1 was 
claimed under the state bounty offer. If the latter is not paid, the gross proceeds 
are about $12.50 per acre less, averaging just about an even $50 per acre. The ex- 
penses reported average $36.88 per acre, leaving average net profits of $13 per acre, 
as follows : 

Cost of seed, .....-- 

Rent of land, ...---- 

Value of all labor, ...... 

Other expenses, ...... 

Total expenses, ....-■ 

Profits, 

Total receipts at $4 per ton, .... 

This shows an average cost of just about $3 per ton of beets delivered to the fac- 
tory, including wagon haul and railroad freight, on a crop of 12i tons per acre, over 
nearly 1500 acres in various sections of Nebraska, and representing all sorts of culture 
and soil. Closer analysis of the returns shows that the larger yields of the more 
careful cultivators were produced at a cost of $2 to $2.50, and in one or two instances 
♦Jven less. It is to be regretted that these figures are based on estimates at close of 
season, not upon actual accounts, though our inquiries indicate that the items of cost 
are above the actual, if anything. 

It is to be remembered, however, that the foregoing figures are for an exception- 
ally favorable season. They are based upon the experiences of the better growers 
also— intelligent men, experts, of several years' experience ; the other kind, who most 
need its help, don't attend the beet growers' meetings. Even the best men could not 
make so good a showing for the unfavorable year of 1895. Yet here are the figures 
for the '95 crop upon 40 acres grown by Pettiiiger Brothers at Albion, Boone county. 
Neb: 



Per acre 


For 1442 acres 


- $3.00 


$4,363 


3.96 


5,708 


- 25.56 


36,976 


4.36 


6,302 


- $36.88 


$53,349 


$13.12 


$18,751 


- $50.00 


$72,100 



EXPENSES. 

Seed for 40 acres, $107.00 

Hand work at $12 per acre, 480.00 

Extra labor, 150.00 

Topping beefs at $3 per acre, 120.00 

Freight at 80c per ton, 538.40 

Total, $1399.40 



PROCEEDS. 

577% tons dressed beets over 

12 % sugar 80 purity at $5 

per ton of 2000 lbs, $2888.33 

461/3 tons inferior at $2.50, 115.83 

Received for siloing 258 tons at 30c, 77.34 

Total, $3081.50 



Deducting the expenses reported ($1399.40) from the gross proceeds ($3081.50), there is left $1682.19 
as the net return for the team virork, use of land, pay for superititendence and profit. This is $42 per 
acre for these items on a crop that dressed nearly 15 tons per acre, when sold at $5. This price include* 
the $1 state bounty. Deducting that, or $15 per acre, leaves $27. A detailed statement of Pettinger 
Brothers' experience is printed on Pages 126-127. 

Mr R. M. Allen, president of the Nebraska beet sugar growers' association and 
of the American sugar growers' society, says that the result of his six years' experi- 
ence is that "The cost of growing beets to farmers in Nebraska is from a minimum of 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



ISfil 



$2 per ton delivered at the factory, up to a figure where it becomes unprofitable to 
raise them even at $5 per ton. The average cost to farmers probably ranges fi-om 
$2.50 to $3.50, with an average yield of from 10 to 12 tons. These figures do not 
include rent, fertilizers, or profit. The first two large areas of beets raised under 
my own charge cost $3.60 and $3.80 per ton, respectively (actual book accounts), the 
first being a year of very high cost and the second a drouth year of decreased yield." 
Mr Allen submits detailed statements of these (1893-4) crops as printed below, but 
we understand his 1896 crop was grown at very much less expense. 



RESULT 


OF CROP. 




EXPENSES PER ACRE. 






1893 


1894 




1893 


1894 








Cleaning off corn stalks. 


$3.50 


a$2.00 


Number of fields grown, 


21 


23 


Plowing, 


2.20 


2.01 


Number of acres grown, 


500 


5(59 


Harrowing, 


1.30 


.50 


Lowest yield per acre, 


9 tons 


6.6 tons 


Rolling, 


.50 


.31 


Highest " " " 


30 " 


19.5 " 


Seeding, 


.40 


.30 


Average " " " 


liVz " 


10 net tons 


First hoeing, 
Thinning, 


4.00 
13.00 


1.44 

. 5.84 


Net delivered at factory 


15 " 


10 " " 


Two times hoeing after thinnin 


g, 12.00 


612.97. 


Gross tonnage, 


8709 


6165 


Cultivating, 


2.15 


1.82 


Net tonnage shipped, 


7514 


5803 


Seed, 


2.25 


2.00 


Shrinkage, 


13.43 % 


5.8% 


Cost of laying by. 


41.30 


30.16 








Harvesting, 


6.00 


c6.oa 


Total cars shipped. 


436 


•346 


Hauling and loading. 


6.75 


2.13 


Average sugar content. 


11. ■94 % 


14.95 % 


Total cost of crop per acre. 


$54.05 


$38.29 


Highest " " 


15.50 % 


18% 


Cost of beets per net ton. 


$3.60 


$.3.82 


Average purity. 


77% 


79% 


a Manuring, b Second hoeing $5.25. 3d $4.81, 4t.h 
$2.91 per acre, c Plowing out cost $2 per acre. 


Highest " 


86% 


86% 


pulling and topping $4. 







In Utan, the average cost of cultivating, harvesting and delivering a crop of 12 
tons of beets per acre to the factory, not to exceed four miles distant, is from $28 to 
$35, and at $4 per ton this leaves a net income of $13 to $20 per acre, besides the $28 
or $35 worth of labor furnished by the farmer and his family and teams, for which he 
gets paid in cash. Going into more detail, the Utah Sugar company says that, if 
everything is hired or if the labor is charged for at the price it would cost to hire it, 
the expense of cultivating beets in Utah would be about as follows: "Preparing soil 
for seed, $3.50 per acre; that is, plowing, harrowing, leveling, rolling and the neces- 
sary work to make a proper seed bed. Twenty pounds of seed per acre will cost $3, 
and planting with the seed drill 50c per acre. Thinning costs about $5 per acre, but 
this item will be less after a few years' experience. The second hoeing is as neces- 
sary as the thinning, and costs $2 per acre. We irrigate two to five times, as the case 
maybe, averaging three times; at 40c per acre for each irrigation, this would cost 
$1.20, though it may cost more the first season. We cultivate six times, three before 
irrigation, and three after, at a total cost of $14.40. Plowing out the beets in the fall 
will cost $1 per acre. We pay 50c per ton for pulling and topping the beets, which, 
lor an average yield of 12 tons, is $6 per acre. This makes a total expense of $30.60, 
exclusive of use of land and manures, paying highest market prices for all labor." 

One of the most extraordinary financial statements ever made by an American 
beet grower is that submitted by James Bardin, of Monterey Co, Cal. In 1892 he 
shipped 6082 tons of beets to the Watsonville factory from 225 acres of land, making 
the phenomenal average of 27 tons of dressed beets per acre. The cost of seed and 
planting averaged $5.12 per acre, harvesting $7.45 per acre, cultivating and weeding 



122 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

was done by contract by Chinese at $1.65 per ton, while the freight was 75c per ton. 
This made a total cost per ton of $2.83, and as the beets were sold at $5 per ton at the 
factory, it left $2.17 per ton for the use of land and net profit. Adding net gains 
from stock fed on beet tops, Mr Bardin shows an average return of $59.33 per acre 
for his own time and use of land, or a total profit of $13,352. Mr Bardin says there is 
just as much money now in raising beets at $4 per ton as there was then at $5, 
because freight has been reduced 25c per ton, contracts for taking care of crop, hoe- 
ing, thinning, topping and loading into wagons have been reduced 65c per ton, and 
the crop can be handled 10c per ton cheaper now on accoimt of improved machinery, 
making a total of $1 reduction to offset the decline of $1 in the price. 

Mr Bardin writes us that in 1893 and 1895, he was not directly interested in 
growing sugar beets. In 1894, he planted 450 acres to this crop, but the land was not 
in good condition and the yield averaged only 13f tons per acre dresaed weight. Part 
of the tract was new land that had not been cleaned but one year, and some had been 
planted to crops which the beet does not follow well. In 1896, he planted 260 acres, 
which were all harvested before Oct 1 and averaged between 16 and 17 tons per acre 
for the whole tract. One of these fields of 80 acres, planted the first week in March, 
yielded 25 tons of dressed beets per acre. Another field of 100 acres was not all 
planted until the latter part of April, and owing to the extremely dry season made 
not more than 8 or 9 tons per acre. If the season had been favorable, he believes the 
whole tract would have averaged 25 tons and is perfectly satisfied with the crop as a 
profit earner, when sold at $4 per ten. 

Mr Bardin's items for planting the 225 acres first mentioned were: Labor $450, 
seed $180, use of beet drill $22.50, barley fed to teams when planting $10.50, hay fed 
(at $8 per ton) $200, wear and tear of tools $150, total $1,152.50 for planting. The 
detailed account for harvesting shows that the expense was $1677. Caring for the 
crop was contracted for by Chinese at $1.60 per ton, or a total of $10,166; freight at 
76c per ton cost $4561, making the grand total for all expenses $17,556. The receipts 
being $30,908, left the net profit above stated of $13,352. This is an extraordinary 
result of an extraordinarily favorable season, which even Mr Bardin himself has not 
since been able to duplicate. Moreover his land is in beets only one season in three 
years, and his last crop averaged only about one-third as large a crop as the phenom- 
enal results in '92. Even under the most favorable Californian conditions, therefore, 
it IS safe to discount this result fully one-half and we doubt very much if the major- 
ity of California beet growers average $30 per acre per year, for use of land, for their 
ability in running the business and for net profits over and above all other expenses 
of every kind and nature. 

ACTUAL EXPERIENCE OF FARMERS IN RAISING BEETS ON A LARGE AND SMALL SCALE. 

Pettinger Brothers of Albion, Boone Co, Nebraska, writing in September, 1896, 
said: "Nebraska farmers are only just beginning to know a small part of what there 
is to learn about farming, and especially sugar beet raising. In Boone county, the 
first sugar-beet crop was planted in 1884. Our first crop contracted for consisted of 
ten acres. The soil was prepared and the crop planted the best we could with such 
instructions as were given by the factory, but the soil was a little sandy, and during 




THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. ^ 123 

June about bait the crop was cut off by drifting sand, or buried out of sight; what 
was saved yielded about six tons to the acre. While this was a very light crop, we 
felt encouraged to try again. At first we did our own hoeing and thinning, but have 
since had German-Kussians to do this work ; they are by far the best and cheapest 
labor. The following spring, we contracted to put in 40 acres. The soil is a slightly 
sandy bottom land, just sandy enough to work nicely, with a good clay subsoil. The 
field planted in '95 had been a timothy meadow for about 12 years previous to plow- 
ing for beets. We plowed six or seven inches deep, following in the fall with a sub- 
soil plow, going to the depth of six inches more, stirring the soil thoroughly to the 
depth of twelve or thirteen inches and harrow- 
ing each day's plowing as it was done. For the 
seed bed, the field was gone over three or four 
times with a disk harrow, working the top 

^. 1 , ^1 , , ., , . , "SMOOTHER" FOR BEET LAND, MADE OF A 

thoroughly ; then we took a railroad iron, put railroad rail. 

on eight horses and went over the ground until This leveier is 28 ft long and bent slightly 

it was perfectly smooth. This smoothing iron ^?,rV^%7'saT2'fruf\K},^,^'r°he'irVn* 

is illustrated herewith and I like it better than ''.^'^^Tti^Z^^a^iltVt'^^^^^^ 

a harrow, as it packs the soil better and makes the iron plow level. Hitch the horses so 

that the curve is to the front as portrayed 
a splendid, fine, seed bed, without which it is above, if tne curve is to the rear, the iron 

will dip in the middle and the ends draw up 

of but little use to plant beets. Preparation of and it win not work satisfactorily. 
the soil is the main point; you cannot get the seedbed too good. One great thing is 
not working the top too fine. In this preparation, most of the work can be done with 
a disk harrow, as it does not crush all of the small clods, thus preventing blowing and 
cutting off by the fine dirt and sand that is driven over a field that has been so thor- 
oughly worked. Planting was begun May 1 and finished May 25. A little re-plant- 
ing was done June 10. A good stand has never failed us if the ground is in perfect 
shape at the time of planting. Planting is but little trouble, the seed being put in 
from i to I of an inch deep and covered with a moist soil. The Jewell planter was used 
last year with good success. We never use flat shovels in cultivation, preferring the 
goose-foot shovels, which we like much the best. Thinning is begun when the plants 
are two inches high. We bunch thin and clean all of the small weeds out at one time 
and are particular that this work is well done. Cultivation is kept up every week or 
ten days as long as we can get through them ; in all, about five times. 

"In 1895 the mode of work was changed but little from that of the preceding 
year. We were a little more careful as to details. Pains are taken that all weeds 
are killed before planting. Plant as soon as the soil is ready. Do not let it lay three 
or four days after it is ready to plant, as the weeds get just that much of a start. We 
think if we get our crop started right, future cultivation is easy. During the sum- 
mer of '95, most of our crop was irrigated the latter part of July or early August. 
Irrigation is what saved our crop from testing low, as they grew and ripened. When 
the late rains came in the fall, they did not take on a second growth but retained 
their ripeness and sugar. Out of 56 carloads shipped to the factory, only four loads 
went below 12 per cent sugar and 80 per cent purity. Last year we did not irrigate, 
but I believe it will pay as a rule. Ourbeets were not as good last year as in '95; 
the early part of the season was too wet. The ground on which the '95 crop waa 



134 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

raised was put to corn, beets and chicory last year; tlie corn was a good average crop 
of 50 bu or more per acre, the beets were as good as the average of the fleld, and the 
chicory from tliis fleld took first premium at the state fair. I believe that 12 tons can 
be raised every year if the work is done properly. The beet crop of '95 was heavy 
and it was impossible for the factory to receive and store what beets they could not 
work up before they would freeze in the ground or in piles, so they gave the farmer 
about 30c per ton for siloing a portion of their crop and holding it five or six weeks, 
thus giving the factory a chance to take those siloed beets later in the season. This 
same crop furnished a splendid feed of beet tops for milch cows, making the entire 
feed for our 26 head from Oct 1 to Jan 1. They produced an extra flow of milk and 
it tested high at the creamery. An acre of beet tops is worth from $3 to $5 as feed 
for cows and hogs, both of which eat them greedily." 

Here are some reports from farmers at Chino, Cal, for the seasons of 1891-4 inclu- 
sive : E. M. Day planted ?5f acres to beets, from which he harvested 409 tons, for 
which he received $1400. On his home place he had Sf acres, the beets fi-om which 
brought $525, or $91.30 per acre. On another ten acres he harvested 204 tons, which 
brought him $4.50 per ton. This makes the returns for the ten acres $918, or $91.80 
per acre. The $1400 he received for his entire crop was all clear gain, except $40 he 
paid out for wages and $75 for seed and use of cultivator. Himself and two boys, one 
11 and the other 15 years of age, did enough^work on their own crop and in exchange 
with their neighbors to clear all expenses on their own crop except the $115 noted. 
In other words, Mr Day's summer work on his beet crop has brought him just $1284 
in clear cash. Besides this, he has taken care of, cut and harvested ten acres of 
alfalfa of his own, raised fourteen acres of barley, and did $50 worth of work cutting 
alfalfa and barley for other people. This will go a long way towards paying all his 
living expenses for the year, and his beet crop can be counted clear gain. Mr Day 
says he lived in Nebraska for twenty-five years and in all his farming experience he 
has never done as well as he has here, or found the product that paid as well as sugar 
beets. 

George C. Moore rented 36 acres, whicli he planted to beets. He did the team 
work and a large part of the labor upon the crop himself, hiring no more than he 
could avoid. He is an energetic, painstaking and careful man, and his care has been 
well rewarded. In making a statement of his expenses on the crop, he included his 
own labor and that of his teams. His actual expenses in money were therefore much 
less than the figures given. He sold 649 tons (at $4,25) for $2,758.25; expenses : Plowing 
$72, preparing ground $27, seed $64, planting $12, thinning $108, cultivating $25.20, 
hoeing $70, pulling and topping, $374.50, hauling $299.60, factory expenses $52.45, 
total $1,104.75; rent, 25 per cent, $684.56; grand total, $1,789.31; net profit, $968.94. 

Peter Varner harvested from eighteen acres 360 tons of beets, or twenty tons per 
acre. For these he realized $3.90 per ton, or $1404 for his crop— $78 per acre. Less 
than three years ago Mr Varner came to Chino with no capital whatever but his 
energy, his perseverance and his pluck. He has recently purchased $3000 worth of 
land for a home, and he is paying for it with money realized fror\ beet farming. He 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTKY. 



125 



says he is satisfied that there is no other line of farming in California in which he 
can do as well as growing sugar beets. 

N. S. Eice planted sixteen acres, from which he harvested 201 tons net, or about 
12i tons per acre. At $5. 60 per ton, these brought him $816. 52, or $51. 04 per acre 
gross. The money he actually paid out in raising and harvesting the crop was as fol- 
lows: Seed $57, thinning $54, plowing and planting $30, topping $10, total $242. All 
the rest of the work was done by himself and no account was kept of it. This leaves 
his returns on the sixteen acres $574.52. 

W. C. Eightmier harvested from twenty-seven acres 400 tons, or an average of 15 
tons per acre. They analyzed between 13 and 14 per cent sugar, makinsr an average 




DELVER FOR WORKING THE SUBSOIL. 

Machines of this character are not used in America, hut are considered almost indispensable in Europe. The 
work of the delver begins where the subsoil plow left off, the delver running after it to still more deeply stir the sub- 
soil so that the beets have the least possible resistance to overcome in their descending development. Mr Ware says 
in The Sugar Beet for November, 1896, from which our engraving is taken: " This delving operation is frequently con- 
tinued even after the roots have attained considerable size, that is, after weeds are little to be dreaded and when the 
cultivators are no longer necessary." It is easy to see how useful such an implement can become, especially during 
a long dry spell, when the lower portions of the soil are frequently too hard to admit of a thorough penetration by the 
shoots and hairy growth of the beet. 

price of say $4.10 per ton. This would give Mr Eightmier in the neighborhood of 
$61.50 per acre from his field. Another field of eight acres gave 172 tons of beets 
averagins 14i per cent sugar, 21i tons per acre at $4.50 per ton, or a return of $96.75 
an acre for the field. 

HOW THE INDUSTRY EMPLOYS AND PAYS LABOR. 

The chief item in raising sugar beets is labor. It constitutes from 60 to 75 per 
cent of the total expense of beets delivered to the factory, and in some cases even 
more. Out of average expenses of $36 per acre in Nebraska, over $25 was for 
labor. Mr James Bardin's 225 acres that produced such a profit in 1892 (see page 121), 
was sowed to barley the next year, the crop yielding 3500 lbs per acre and at 65c per 
cental made a net profit of $12.75 per acre — about one-fifth the profit on sugar beetsL 
He paid for labor on this barley crop $360, while the labor on the beet crop on the 



126 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

same land the year before cost $10,666. Adding $3500 for payroll to labor at factory 
during the time required to manufacture the crop into sugar, labor got about 
$15,000 out of this beet crop. In other words, for every dollar paid for labor on bar- 
ley, there were paid $41 for labor on beets, so that "for eA'ery man who gets a job on 
a grain crop, 41 persons get a job on beets." 

Skilled labor is not required for much of the work of pulling and harvesting, 
while some of the thinning and weeding can be done by boys and girls. The crop 
thus furnishes an extremely important home market for a grade of labor that other- 
wise would hardly be employed at all. Indeed, such labor can be worked to better 
advantage and more cheaply than Chinese contract labor. James Hopkins, Jr., of 
Watsonville does not believe in paying $1 per ton of beets for Chinese labor, as his 
«rop last year, worked with white boys and girls, cost him only 75c per ton for labor. 
Of course boys will be boys, and it is necessary to work in the field with them your- 
self, but under proper supervision boys and girls will work rapidly and well and are 
to be preferred to the contract system. If 25 or 30 per cent can be saved by employ- 
ing boys and girls, it amounts to many thousands of dollars each year. 

No other crop is so attractive to the laborer of all ages and grades of skill as the 
sugar beet. It gives employment not only to the farmer, but to every member of his 
family, pays them spot cash for this labor and yields a fair profit besides. J. W. 
Johnson made a study of this point in the Nebraska beet fields in '96 and reports in 
the State Journal: "The net profits of the growers, in one case amounting to $1400 
on 80 acres, does not alone measure the importance of the industry. Its value to the 
community consists chiefly in giving employment to all people who want to work, and 
to that class who are unskilled and can perform only the simplest kind of labor. 
Anyone who can handle a hoe or pull weeds can earn money all summer in the beet 
fields. Anyone who can hold a sharp corn knife in one hand and a beet in the other 
can top beets and earn $1.25 a day. Any man can load beets into a wagon from the 
field and can shovel them out of the warehouse at the factory. All this labor is 
available to those who need labor most. There is $25 worth of cheap labor in every 
cfop of beets produced. A large part of this goes into the pockets of poor people who 
have no ability to make plans for themselves, or to sustain themselves in any other 
way except by manual labor of the simplest kind." 

PRICE OF BEETS. 

The price paid for beets is for the net weight of trimmed and washed beets as 
delivered at the factory. When beets arrive at the factory, an average 50 pounds is 
taken from each wagon load, thoroughly washed, examined to see if properly topped, 
and then weighed again, the loss determining the tare. This tare should not be over 
5 per cent, if the beets are properly harvested and prepared. Two systems of paying 
for beets are in vogue, a straight price and a graded price. The beet grower who 
gets a straight price per ton knows what each ton will bring beyond question, and 
knows that he can sell all of his beets that come up to the required standard, which 
is usually 12 per cent sugar of 80 purity. Beets poor in quality are refused or 
accepted at a much lower price. On the other hand, if paid according to the amount 
of sugar in the beet, the careful farmer who grows rich beets will get a better price. 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 137 

The Sprecke^s factory at Watsonville and his new mill at Salinas pay a straight price, 
at present $4 per ton, though before the repeal of the McKinley bill it was $5 per 
ton. We believe the Alvarado factory has also paid a straight price. At Chino, how- 
ever, the first five-year contract was based on $3. 50 per ton for beets containing 12 
per cent of sugar and 25c additional for each additional 3 per cent, and under it farm- 
ers received an average of $4. 50 per ton. In 1896, contracts were based on $3. 25 per 
ton with an additional 25c per ton for each percentage above 12, which has netted the 
growers nearly $3.78 per ton. To protect their interests, the growers are well organ- 
ized and choose their own weigher and chemist and also their own tare man, the 
expense being about 3c per ton. 

In Nebraska, at first $4 per ton was offered for 12 per cent beets of 80 purity, the 
price being advanced 25c for every additional percentage of sugar, up to $7 for beets 
containing 20 per cent sugar, but it was afterwards found to be more satisfactory to 
have an average price for all beets above 12 per cent sugar with 80 purity, and this 
price was fixed at $5 per ton (including the $1 state bounty). If the beets run below 
this standard, they are accepted at half price. In Utah, the plan was tried of pay- 
ing different prices for different qualities of beets, but it proved so unsatisfactory to 
farmers, that one fixed price of $4.25 was established for all beets containing 11 per 
cent sugar of 80 purity, the price for 1897 being $4, and beets below this standard 
are not accepted at all. Where the farmer is careful with his growing crop and at 
harvest sorts out all the large coarse beets, this crop will usually fulfill the contract. 

HOW TO GET A SUGAR FACTORY. 

The first step to take to get a beet-sugar factory, is to demonstrate that your 
township, county and district can grow the right kind of beets in profitable quan- 
tity. If your farmers have not demonstrated this fact, apply to your state experi- 
ment station for particulars about tests that have been made in other parts by the 
state. Get all the points you can from your experiment station — that's what it is for, 
to help your farmers and free of cost to them. Then from the instructions given in 
this book, let every farmer grow half an acre or less of beets. Have samples of all 
these beets analyzed at your state experiment station* to determine their sugar con- 
tent and purity. Keep a record of all these crops, the soils and conditions under 
which they were grown, yield, cost, etc. Repeat these tests a second and third year 
if necessary, to establish the fact that your locality is adapted to the crop. A small 
patch of beets on various soils on each farm is better for testing than a few large 
areas. The beets can be fed with profit to stock, if no factory is available to which 
they can be shipped. This sort of preliminary work has been done for years in many 
parts of California and accounts for the firm position of the industry in that state. 

Analyses of beets grown under all sorts of conditions and soils will enable any 
practical beet-sugar man to decide whether such locality can be depended upon to 
furnish beets in suflicient quantity and quality to operate a factory successfully. 
There is no doubt in the least of the reliability of the laboratory or analytical work 
of our sugar chemists. Consequently, we were surprised to have a gentleman who 
was supposed to know something about the industry advise localities wanting sugar 
factories to begin by establishing a small distillery. "With a capital of $30,000, such 



* See addresses of experiment stations at bottom of next page. 



128 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



a plant could work 30 tons of beets per day, using all roots furnished. Every gallon 
of pure alcohol obtained corresponds to a certain per cent of sugar in the beet. Then, 
after the farmers had learned how to grow beets, the purchase of beet-sugar macliin- 
ery could follow." This suggestion is not practical at the present time, if indeed, 
it ever was. In the first place, analyses will determine the sugar content, and sec 
ondly, such a distillery would not pay. The tax on alcohol is too high and it requires 
a very large amount of grain to give to alcohol from beets the necessary life. 
Besides, the whisky trust would interfere with the sale of such a product. The 
thing has been tried with molasses from Grand Island at the Columbia distillery in 
South Omaha. It was found there was no money in it. Mr Thomas R. Cutler, man- 
ager of the Utah sugar company, informs us that he has investigated this matter thor- 
oughly in both American and foreign countries, and has concluded that in the United 
States it would be unprofitable. 

The beets and other essentials satisfactorily provided for, the one vital question 
becomes: Will farmers contract for a series of years to grow 2500 to 10,000 acres of 
sugar beets for the factory, depending upon its size, at an average of say $4 per ton 
delivered at factory, with the full benefit that may come from whatever state or 
national aid may be extended to the industry? The locality that is able to , offer the 
best guarantee of this kind is the one that (other things being equal) will prove most 
attractive to any who may be seeking investment in sugar factories. 

To conduct all this work to the best advantage, a local organization is desirable. 
For this purpose let all interested unite in forming a local branch of the American 



* THE STATE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS, 

Where located, name and postoffice address of the director or person in charge. 



Alabama— Auburn: College Sta- 
tion; W.L. Broun. Uniontown: 
Canebrake Station ; H. Benton. 

Arizona— Tucson : W. S. Devol. 

Arkansas- Fayetteville; R. L. 
Bennett. 

California— Berkeley : E. W. 
Hilgard. 

Colorado— Fort Collins : Alston 
Ellis. 

Connecticut— NewHaven : State 
station; S. W.Johnson. Storrs: 
Storrs Station ; "W. O. Atwater. 

Delaware— Newark : A. T. Neale. 

Florida— Lake City; O. Clute. 

Georgia— Experiment: R. J. 
Redding. 

Idaho— Moscow: C. P. Fox. 

Illinois— Urbana: E. Davenport. 

Indiana— Lafayette : C. S. Plumb. 

Iowa— Ames: James Wilson. 

Kansas— Manhattan : G. T. Fair- 
child. 

Kentucky— Lexington : M. A. 
Scovell. 

Louisiana— Audubon Park, New 
Orleans: Sugar Station. Baton 
Rouge: State Station. Cal- 
houn : North Louisiana Station ; 
W. C. Stubbs 



Maine— Orono : C. D. Woods. 

Maryland— College Park: R. H. 
Miller. 

Massachusetts— Amherst: H. 
H. Goodell. 

Michigan— Agricultural College: 
C. L>. Smith. 

Minnesota— St Anthony Park: 
W. M. Liggett. 

Mississippi— Agricultural col- 
lege: S. M.Tracy. 

Missouri— Columbia : H. J. Wa- 
ters. 

Montana— Bo zeman : S. M. 
Emery. 

Nebraska— Lincoln: G. E. Mac- 
Lean. 

Nevada— Reno: J. E. Stubbs. 

New Hampshire— Durham: C. 
S. Murkland. 

NEW Jersey— New Brunswick: 
E. B. Voorhees. 

New Mexico— Mesllla Park: C. 
T. Jordan. 

New York— Geneva: State Sta- 
tion; W. H. Jordan. Ithaca: 
Cornell University Station; I. 
P. Roberts. 

North Carolina— Raleigh : H. 
B. Battle. 



North Dakota— Fargo : J. H. 

Worst. 
Ohio— Wooster: C. E. Thorne. 
Oklahoma— Stillwater: G. E, 

Morrow. 
Oregon— Corvall is: H. B. Miller. 
Pennsylvania— State College: 

H. P. Armsby. 
Rhode Island— Kingston: CO. 

Flagg. 
South Carolina— Clemson Col- 
lege: E. B. Craighead. 
South Dakota— Brookings: J. 

H. Shepard. 
Tennessee— Knoxville: C. F. 

Vanderford. 
Texas— College Station: J. H. 

Connell. 
Utah— Logan : L. Foster. 
Vermont- Burlington : J. L. 

Hills. 
Virginia— Blacksburg: J. M. Mc- 

Bryde. 
Washington— Pullman: E. A. 

Bryan. 
West Virginia— Morgantown: 

J. A. Myers. 
Wisconsin- Madison : W. A. 

Henry. 
Wyoming- Laramie : F.P.Graves. 



130 THE SUGAR INDUSTBT. 

Sugar Growers' Society, Then you will be leagued with similar efforts all over the 
country, provided the society is thus supported, and in many ways can benefit by 
such connection. 

As to financiering a sugar factory enterprise after it is demonstrated that your 
community can furnish the necessary beets, there are numerous methods. On gen- 
eral principles, we do not favor paying a bonus outright to secure an industry, 
although this is a very common method. If outside capital is necessary, it can usu- 
ally be attracted by the offer of the community that wants a factory to furnish a part 
of the money. Suppose, for instance, it is desired to erect a plant which, with working 
capital and all appurtenances, requires an investment of $500,000. Instead of offering a 
bonus of lands or money, let the community offer to take one-flfth or two-fifths or 
even one-half of the capital stock, provided outsiders will furnish the other half and 
the expert management the enterprise requires to be successful. Let it be constantly 
borne in mind that such management is quite as essential as capital. And if the 
community supplies some of the money, the enterprise will be assured of a more 
direct interest and heartier support than if it was wholly owned by outsiders. Farm- 
ers might take an interest in the factory by agreeing to pay for their shares partly in 
cash and partly in beets. Except in the very newest regions, where money is 
extremely scarce, the people in almost any county can raise a goodly sum of money 
for an investment of this kind if they really mean business. Of course the rights and 
interests of all the parties to such a trade should be properly seen to, but as a rule 
we believe in this policy of home talent and home money building up home indus- 
tries. It fosters a spirit of thrift and enterprise that is often lacking in communities 
that are supported by industries operated wholly by foreign capital. 

If, however, the people of the locality will not put up any money on any of these 
plans, let them not find fault that they have to depend wholly upon outside capital. 
Judging from some of the criticism we have heard of the Oxnards' investment in 
beet-sugar factories in Nebraska, some of the people of that state at least consider it 
almost a crime for an outsider to invest his money in new industrial enterprises! Wei 
can but believe, however, that such critics constitute only a small fraction of the 
population of that great state. Such critics should understand that other states are 
only too anxious to attract outside capital, and many towns seem to be ready to make 
even extravagant efforts to obtain it. But we also feel that some of such enterpris- 
ing communities would accomplish more in the long run by putting more of their 
own money into these new industries. 

WHERE AND HOW TO START A SUGAR FACTORY. 

In starting a sugar factory, it is necessary to erect the plant where there is rail- 
road competition. Transportation of beets and factory supplies is a most important 
consideration, requiring the lowest possible rates. The sugar itself is also a bulky 
product, the distribution of which among local and more distant markets must be 
fairly considered. 

The nearer the factory can be to the beets, the better. Unlike other manufactur- 
ing enterprises, it should be in the beet fields and not close to a town. If it is possi- 
ble^ the sugar factory should be located in the very center of farming districts, where 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 131 

at least 10,000 acres of good beet land could be controlled within a radius of not more 
than six miles, so that the beets can be delivered by wagon. This saves an immense 
amount of expense in railroad freights. Moreover, the factory cannot get quite as 
good results from beets grown at a distance as from those close at home that are 
delivered by wagon with the least delay after harvest. 

An abundant supply of pure water is imperative and perfect drainage is absolute- 
ly necessary. 

Plenty of pure lime rock, containing a very small percentage of silica, is required. 
Also coal, coke or oil for fuel. All these bulky materials should be available at 
the least expense for freight as well as first cost. 

No factory should be built with a capacity of less than 300 tons of beets per day 
of 24 hours, and it should be so designed that the capacity can be increased in future 
at the minimum of expense. The cost of operating such a plant is 25 to 50c per ton of 
beet worked less than for a factory with half this capacity. The limit of size beyond 
which profitable economies cannot be obtained seems to be about 1000 tons of beets 
per day, as the latest improved large factory — Salinas mill — is practically three sep- 
arate outfits of 1000 tons capacity daily, but under one roof. 

It has been suggested that branch plants be established for making a crude prod- 
uct to be transported by rail to a central factory, where the process of manufacture and 
refining might be completed. Such plants for making a crude product would, of course, 
cost a small sum compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars required in a large 
beet-sugar factory. Up to the present time, however, all experience with existing 
methods is against this proposition. Only the larger factories are able to run to-day 
in this or other countries, and many small factories in foreign parts have had to close 
their doors during the past few years of lower prices and increasing competition. To 
meet these conditions, it is imperative that the factory operate on a large scale and 
in such a way as to reduce to a minimum the expense per ton of beets or per pound 
of sugar. It costs relatively but little more for the experts and labor to operate a 
plant capable of working up 600 tons of beets per day than one of half that capacity. 
The beet is such a bulky product that every possible means must be taken advantage 
of to keep down the expense of handling or working it. There are many pretty the- 
ories about what might be done, but the average investor or farmer realizes the ne- 
cessity of sticking close to the latest improved methods that have demonstrated by 
actual experience to be money makers. 

Of course improvements in sugar manufacture are even more likely to be made in 
the future than in the past. There has been much talk of late of the new process of 
crystallization in motion, the Seffens process, osmosis and several others, but it costs 
enormously to introduce them and it is a question to be decided in each case whether 
the result pays in dollars and cents. American genius may yet solve these and many 
other problems, including the matter of small factories, refining, etc, but meanwhile, 
those who are in the business for revenue will let the "other fellow" do the costly 
experimenting. In order to compete with the sugar trust, our American beet-sugar 
factories have been equipped with refining outfits and thus realize the refiners' prof- 



132 THE SUGAK INDUSTRY. 

its. Mr Ware says that in Europe, the tendency is to abandon this plan, the facto- 
ries making raw sugar to be sliipped to refineries. 

It is quite possible that the system of branch factories tributary to a central plant, 
similar to the Cambria factory in France, may at some time be established in the 
United States. The Cambria central factory is located in the midst of beet lields and 
is also near limestone quarries and coal mines, and has water transportation for all 
these raw materials. There are 16 rasping stations, the furthest being nine miles 
away from the central factory, with which they are connected by pipes at these sta- 
tions. The beets are washed, weighed, sliced, and run into the diffusion batteries in 
the way common in American beet-sugar factories. The juice from the diffusion bat- 
teries is then treated with a solution of lime to keep it from acidulating and is forced 
through pipes to the central sugarhouse, where it is at once carried forward in the 
manufacturing process in the usual way, with certain modifications. This concern 
works up 3000 tons of beets daily and with its rasping stations gives employment to 
2000 men, women and children. 

How to build a factory. — All preliminaries having been satisfactorily adjusted 
and the company ready to build a factory, let it invite bids from the various Ameri- 
can firms that make a specialty of this work. The announcements of these experts 
will be found at the close of this book. They are sufficiently numerous to insure 
competition and the lowest prices consistent with quality of the machinery required. 
Some of these concerns can also furnish expert managers to conduct the sugar factory 
through the first campaign, until others can be educated for the purpose. We cannot 
too strongly urge our readers to in this way get the benefit of all American experi- 
ence, as well as competition among factory contractors and outfitters. 

COST OF A BEET SUGAR FACTORY. 

Kilby Mfg Go's estimate of approximate cost of building a sugarhouse and refinery of a daily (34 
hours) capacity of 350 to 400 tons of beets. 

Stone worlc, foundations and floors, ........ $12,500 ? : • 

Steel and iron, structural frame and roofs, ....... 16,500 

Brick work, ............ 12,000 

Windows and doors, ........... 650 

Hardware, ............ 700 

Painting, - - . - . - -800 

Tarred paper for roofs, .......... 300 . 

Vitrified pipe, 900 

Cornice, cutters and leaders, ......... 300 

Lumber, ............. 5,000 

Freights on materials, .......... 4,000 

Erecting labor of steel and iron frame, ........ 2,000 

Beet sheds and storage for beets, ........ 5,000 

Pulp silo, 4,000 

Complete machinery for refinery, ........ 225,000 

Machinery foundations and masonry for boilers, ...... 5,000 

Fire clay, fire brick, etc, for l)oilers, kilns, etc, ...... 4.500 

Pipe covering, ............ 2,.'')00 

Labor erecting and starting machinery, ....... 20,000 

Hardware, belting and other fixtures, ........ 5,000 

Freight on machinery, .......... 35,000 

Salaries erecting superintendent and necessary help to superintend erecting and 

starting of sugarhouse and refinery, including traveling and other expenses, 15.000 

Total, ............ $376,050 

The Walburn-Swenson Co writes : "The cost of machinery complete for a factory 
of 800 to 350 tons of beets per day, the whole to be of the very best design and work- 



THE BEET SUGAR INDCTSTKY. 



133 



manship and capable of making white sugar direct from the beets, without any 
refining, would be in the neighborhood of $170,000 on cars in Chicago. The machinery 
for a factory having double this capacity would cost in the neighborhood of $260,000. 
The cost of a first-class brick building, including boiler house for the smaller hize 
factory, would be from forty to fifty thousand ilollars. This would also include foun- 
dati-i^ns, iime kilns, etc. . Just wliat the cost of the sheds for holding the beets would 
be, I cannot say, but I am of the opinion that four or five thousand dollars would be 
sulficient to cover this item. All the castings, etc, for the lime kiln are included in 




A BIG PILE OF BEETS AT ALVARADO, CALIFORNIA, 
Showing also the sluiceway of running water by wbicU the beets are carried into the factory. 

the price of machinery, and the brick work would be easily within the above cost of 
buildings. A building for the larger plant would probably cost $75,000. There 
is no doubt but what there is a great misconception as to the cost of a fac- 
tory of this kind, and many people write us, thinking that with an old building and 
second-hand boiler and engine that has been used for some other purpose, they have 
a good nucleus for a beet-sugar factory, and for twenty or thirty thousand dollars it 
can be all fitted up. Any attempt of this kind is simply throwing money away, and 
it would be a great misfortune to the beet-sugar business to have it gone into with- 
out sufficient capital to erect a factory of proper size, as well as of the most modern 



134 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

construction. The machinery, of course, comes very high, but it must be built in 
such a way that there will be no mistake about its working, as breakdowns and 
delays are fatal to the industry during the short season they have to work." 

As competition increases the number of machinery builders and the demand for 
apparatus of the same kind and dimensions increases, these prices will doubtless be 
reduced. 

ON THE MANAGEMENT OF SUGAR FACTORIES. 

A factory having been well located, properly constructed and equipped, its proper 
management involves three essentials. First, expert or scientific oversight of the 
processes of sugar manufacture; second, the utmost economy, good management}, and 
businesslike methods in conducting the work of manufacture, seeing to it that there 
is no unnecessary expense or waste, that labor and machinery are constantly 
employed to the best advantage and that all the operations of manufacture are man- 
aged in the best way possible; third, proper financial or business management, in 
obtaining supplies, selling the product and attending to the manifold and extensive 
financial operations involved in so large an enterprise. 

The thoroughness with which each of these essentials is observed will govern the 
profits of the enterprise. No one should put money into the business on the supposi- 
tion that it is a bonanza that can be conducted carelessly or wastefully or in defiance 
of business principles. Within a few years, the number of sugar factories will be 
such that, with competition from abroad in the desperate efforts of the foreign sugar 
industry to throttle American interests, only the best-managed concerns will operate 
at a satisfactory profit. The fact that a plant can run only about one-third of the 
year, makes the "dead season" a long one, and also increases the depreciation in 
machinery. The earnings of the business should be sufficient not only to pay a rea- 
sonable dividend upon the capital stock, but also to keep up the plant, and to charge off 
liberally for depreciation. Unless this is done, after a few years repairs will not only 
consume all profits but perhaps require additional capital. Even in Germany, many 
failures have occurred in sugar factories, but in 90 per cent of the cases, bad manage- 
ment was the direct cause. 

"Great progress has been made in the actual science of sugar extraction. Not 
many years since, it was considered highly satisfactory if molasses residuum repre- 
sented 4 per cent of the total weight of beets worked while now in many factories 14 
per cent is the least amount that is considered to represent good work in German fac- 
tories. An improved process of sugar manufacture in Germany is claimed to greatly 
reduce the bulk of molasses, to only 1.38 per cent of the total weight of beets worked 
at the factory. In a German factory working under favorable conditions during the 
past campaign, the beets averaged 12.92 per cent sugar and the extraction was 12.26 
per cent, the loss consequently being 0.66 per cent of the weight of the beets. This 
loss was made up as follows: In the residuum cossettes 0.25, waste water from diffu- 
sion 0.12, filter press scums 0.25, second filter scums 0.03, which means a total of 0.65, 
leaving 0.01 per cent unaccounted for. There was consumed limestone 4.6 per cent 
weight of the beet, coke 0.69 per cent, fuel 10.2 lbs per lb beets." 

Mr Ware also cites a 550-ton factory (in Germany), where the expense of factory 
operation of $2.03 per ton of beets in 1893 was by closer management reduced to $1.52 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. ' 135 

three years later, when it was for fuel 43c, lime and coke 16c, labor and siloing 56c, 
maintenance and depreciation 15c, sundries 22c. 

AS TO CO-OPERATIVE SUGAR FACTORIES. 

A great deal of loose talk has been indulged in upon this subject. Farmers and 
others who would not co-operate or work together to conduct the simplest form of a 
country store, creamei-y or co-operative marketing, have proclaimed learnedly as to 
the advantages of co-operative sugar factories. The ideas expressed have been in the 
main crude and unbusinesslike, though the object sought is highly commendable. 

In this, as in all other co-operative effort, it should be distinctly understood that 
co-operation is not a new method of conducting business but simply provides a differ- 
ent method of dividing the profits of industry — to labor or produce rather than to cap- 
ital. "The same principles that govern success in acquiring profit on capital, apply 
to the acquirement of profit to divide upon labor. Industry, application, persever- 
ance, good judgment, all are required in the co-operative as in the existing methods 
of industry. Co-operation is not a means whereby the business of production and 
distribution will run itself and pour a golden stream into the pockets of the people. 
True co-operative effort is by no means independent of the everyday principles that 
underlie success in any undertaking or business." 

Especially is this true in the beet-sugar business. The factory must be located, 
built, equipped and managed with the utmost wisdom and in the best possible way. 
This cau only be obtained by employing persons of experience in the industry, pref- 
erably those who have had experience under American conditions. These experi- 
enced persons must also be reliable, or they may so conduct the enterprise as to use 
much more money than is absolutely essential. All these points must be properly 
safeguarded, whether the sugar factory is owned co-operatively, or by a stock com- 
pany, or by a single individual. In either case, it must be run on the same business- 
like basis. Indeed, a factory that is owned co-operatively — that is, by beet growers 
in part in connection with others — should even be better managed than a private 
enterprise, because so many are ready to criticise the slightest mistake. Farmers 
who think a co-operative factory is one that will pay them more per ton for beets of 
inferior quality than a private factory can afford to pay for rich beets, will be wo- 
fully deceived. A factory can get no more out of the business than there is in it. 

In a strictly co-operative factory, each shareholder has but one vote, irrespective 
of the amount of money he has invested. Out of the receipts of the business, the 
co-operative factory would first pay all expenses, a reasonable sum for depreciation 
and reserve, a fair rate of interest on capital, and the balance would be divided pro 
rata on the beets furnished, just as the co-operative creamery pays for butter. If the 
season is good, the beets rich in sugar, and the markets favorable, under good man- 
agement such a co-operative factory might possibly pay more than one conducted by 
the ordinary system, but under unfavorable conditions, the loss would come upon the 
beet grower for the co-operative factory, as against the stockholder in the capitalistic 
factory. In other words, true co-operation means that the co-operators assume tho 
risk of the losses as well as the profits of the business. 

If farmers are willing to go in with all these points thoroughly understood and 
on a basis that will insure proper management, tben co-operative sugar factories may 



136 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

be attempted. To embark on so gigantic a scale on any other basis is folly doomed 
to failure. The whole country is strewn with wrecks of co-ope'rative failures due to 
failure to appreciate the above facts, and to absence of the co-operative spirit. On 
the other hand, certain forms of co-operation have been made a great success in the 
United States. The author's book, How to Co-operate (price 50c in paper, $1 in 
cloth, from Orange Judd Company), may be consulted for further particulars. 

BRILLIANT OPENING FOR CAPITAL. 

Providing always that the American market is reserved for the product of Ameri- 
can farms and sugar factories, it can be demonstrated by figures based on actual 
experience that a sugar factory enterprise is a fairly profitable investment, if prop- 
erly managed from beginning to end. Without such management, even a gold mine 
will fail to pay. 

Detailed estimates of expenses and profits vary so widely with varying conditions 
that it is useless to attempt to submit any here. Such an investment in a beet-sugar 
factory, under the above conditions, should be able to pay an annual dividend of six 
to ten per cent on its capital stock, after making liberal allowance for depreciation 
and setting aside a reserve for contingencies, maintenance and improvements. This 
is after the enterprise is well established. The first few years it might not do as well 
as this. Some failures will occur if any of the well-known essentials to success are 
neglected. 

Under favorable conditions the industry may pay more than this. But take it 
one year with another, conservative management should readily divide six to ten 
per cent, besides keeping the property in such shape as to be able to close out the 
business at any time and return the shareholders one hundred cents on the dollar. 
To do this, however, the factory must net at least four cents per pound for its sugar 
and with proper legislation to protect against subsidized foreign competition and to 
guard the industry so far as possible against monopoly at home, this price may be 
expected to prevail for some years. The sugar could then be retailed to the con- 
sumer at about present prices, and American farmers, laborers and capitalists would 
put into their pockets the millions upon millions that now go abroad for sugar. 

Without such legislation, however, this promise will never be realized. We have 
seen during the past three years the almost utter ruin of our old established cane- 
sugar industry, simply because the American market has been open to free sugar from 
Hawaii and to bounty-fed sugars from Europe. It cannot be too often reiterated 
that unless the American market is reserved for American sugar, the outlook for our 
domestic sugar industry, both beet and cane, is indeed poor. But protect the indus- 
try in the American market for a few years, and it will then be able to hold its own 
against the world. Indeed, we shall be surprised if this policy does not make Amer- 
ica the greatest sugar-producing nation on earth. 

ADVANTAGES OF THE INDUSTRY. 

Assuming that the American market is assured for American sugar (unless this is 
done, we might as well drop the business right here and now), the advantages of the 
industry may be thus summarized : 

To agriculture, it affords a new crop that puts into the farmer's pocket money 
that would otherwise go out of his community and out of the country ; by thus reduc- 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



137 



ing the area of other crops, it helps all farm values; the beet requires good farming 
and is an educator in thrift and does not rob the soil. 

To labor, the beet-sugar industry offers a new field for employment of both skilled 
and unskilled labor of all ages, and pays a satis- 
factory price for it in money that would other- 
wise go out of the community and out of the coun- 
try. 

To capital, i't pays a fair return and under 
proper management should prove an absolutely 
safe investment. 

To other industries, the beet-sugar business 
contributes largely. It builds up thriving com- 
munities and gives new life to other industries. 
It is roughly estimated that an investment of 
upward of three hundred million dollars would 
be required to build and equip a sufficient num- 
ber of factories to supply the American market 
with sugar, which vast sum would be distributed 
among the mining, manufacturing, building and 
machinery trades. The annual expenditure for 
labor and materials, such as coal, lime, coke, bag- 
ging, chemicals, oils, etc, svould amount to mil- 
lions of dollars. 

To real estate, the beet-sugar industry creates 
value. Chino ranch lands that are now worth 
$100 to $200 per acre were hardly salable at $30 
to $60 per acre before the factory was located 
there. Our attention has been called to a fine 
tract of 30,000 acres of land in California which 
can be "quietly bought up at $30 per acre and 
after a factory is successfully established will be 
worth at least $100 per acre." We consider this a 
conservative statement. 




SOME CAUTIONS IN THIS INDUSTRY. 

No one state has a monopoly of the beet-sugar 
industry. Some Nebraska farmers have an idea 
that the business will be confined to their state 
because it has two factories in successful opera 
tion. Such people have only to read this work 
to be convinced of their error. Moreover, hun- 
dreds of enterprising communities are anxious 
many of these will doubtless do so. 

There are plenty of such communities in a 
farmers are not only ready and eager to contract 



CROSS-SECTION OF A 
SUGAR BEET. 

A section or cuttine; down through the 
middle, showing the alternate rings or cylin- 
ders of compact portions and those more 
translucent, the former containing rather 
more sugar, and the latter more salts and 
all)uminoids. The lower or smaller part ot 
the beet generally has a larger percentage of 
sugar than the lari-'er upper nart. Illustratioa 
reduced from Bulletin 27, United States De- 
partment of Agriculture. 

to secure beet-sugar factories, and 



dozen or twenty states where the 
to furnish any reasonable quantity 



138 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

of beets for a term of years for four or five dollars per ton, but the farmers, busineat 
men and others in the community are ready to put up their money to build and equip 
the sugar factory. So soon as the American market is insured for American sugar 
many of these embryonic efforts will take on definite proportions. 

The idea prevails among some people, however, that sugar factories can be had 
for the asking. Some of the places embraced in our list of towns that want sugar 
factories seem to have the idea that to be put "on the list," is all that it is necessary 
for them to do to secure a factory. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is 
well to be in this list, so that any interested parties may communicate with you, but 
if you think you can sit still and have a half-million-dollar sugar factory for the ask- 
ing, you are very much mistaken. Why? Because, as stated in the preceding para- 
graph, hundreds of communities that do not believe in the "sitting still policy," are 
making determined efforts to secure factories. 

As a rule, the most difficult thing has been to get the farmers to understand how 
necessary it is to prepare the soil for the beet crop. If the land is at all hilly, it 
should be scraped down, as the beet field should be as level as possible. Another 
difficulty is that the average farmer does not appreciate the necessity of care and 
thoroughness in every detail with the crop. In raising sugar beets, it is absolutely 
necessary to get rid of the idea of trying to save necessary labor. The crop cannot 
be slighted, as can potatoes, corn or small grains. 

Another error which farmers in the older beet-growing regions are but just learn- 
ing to avoid, is to be satisfied with a reasonable tonnage. Too much manure or too 
much irrigation will produce beets large in size and of great tonnage per acre, but 
such beets are often late in ripening and usually are inferior in sugar content and 
purity. It is impossible to extract sugar from beets when the beets do not contain 
the sugar. 

Don't try to utilize old buildings for a sugar factory. A factory, to operate 
profitably, should be constructed for this special purpose, so as to save every possible 
item of expense. It might be possible to adapt an old building to sugar-factory pur- 
poses and perhaps save a few thousand dollars in first cost, but in nine cases out of 
ten, this would be "saving at the spigot to waste at the bunghole." The increased 
expense of operating such a plant, owing to the necessarily inconvenient arrangement 
of the outfit and work to adapt it to the structure, would rapidly eat up the saving in 
first cost and thereafter would be a constant extra expense. 

Neither is it wise to bother with second-band machinery or apparatus, unless the 
same is comparatively modern and strictly adapted to the purpose in view. To con- 
duct either a beet-sugar factory or cane sugarhouse to advantage, the latest, best and 
most improved outfits only can be employed. This is what your competitors have 
now or will have, and you cannot expect to compete with them with anything else. 
If a second-hand outfit is offered you, be sure to get the judgment of a well-qualified 
expert, like Mr Salich for instance, before doing anything with it. In these days, 
however, such investments are likely to be unprofitable. 

It may be that in the eastern and middle states, where the soil has been better 
cultivated and fertilizers have been used, that the land requires different treatment 
thau at the west, where the soil has received little culture and no fertilizers. Mr Lap* 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 139 

ham, speaking from results and experience in Virginia, would in no wise depart from 
the methods that have been best in Europe. 

Beets should never be raised on a large scale by any grower the first year, unless 
he is willing to spend a large amount of money and does not consider the loss, if any 
occurs. For the average western farmer it would be advisable not to raise more than 
three acres the first year, and every beet grower should make it his rule to follow 
the advice given by the factory as near as possible, and leave his experiments until 
the second season. 

Look out for the promoter or grower who "knows it all." The more experience 
sensible men have in field or factory, the more they find there is to learn. 

One of the greatest needs in the American sugar industry, is for scientific and 
practical experts to manage the large number of factories required to produce the 
sugar this country consumes. To supply this need, one or more sugar schools should 
be established by government in connection with sugar factories. It is by such tech- 
nical education that Germany has developed the industry so rapidly and successfully. 

Another great need is more definite knowledge about the culture of beets. Much 
can be done at all of our experiment stations. The various states in which this 
industry is developing should also offer prizes for the best results in beet-sugar cul- 
ture, to the farmers producing them for factories. The prizes should be governed 
not only by yield and quality, but by the intelligence and correctness with which an 
account is given of the methods of culture, expense of production, etc. There is a 
loud call for accurate data on all these points. This book is an effort to supply this 
demand, but circumstances in different sections vary so widely that much must be 
done in each state, and in different parts of each state, to get at exact facts and best 
practice. 

No factory enterprise should expect to make money during its first two years. 
There is always much educational work to perform of a costly nature, although much 
of this work has been done by existing factories. 

A gentleman who has had long and costly experience in this industry and with 
sugar factories writes us privately, regarding factory enterprises: "Avoid jumping to 
conclusions; take plenty of time in studying up the question of where to locate, espe- 
cially guarding that which is most important,— an abundant supply of raw material; a 
good supply of water; good fuel, lime rock and coke at a reasonable cost; railroad 
facilities, and where you are to market the product of your factory, making a long- 
time contract with your railroads, on sugar out and material in, especially beets. 
Always select a place where the beets can be grown in the immediate vicinity of the 
factory, and never attempt to build a poor factory, or any at all, unless you have 
abundant capital to see you through the first few years, which are always largely 
expeiimental. Secure the best possible talent. A cheap superintendent is one of the 
gravest mistakes. A year can be well spent in investigating before starting such an 
enterprise. The great thing to be guarded against is, that people who have neither 
money nor experience in the business will become promoters and that factories will 
be put up that must fail." 

We hope there will be no attempt to overdo this business. The over-booming, 
over-promoting and over-financiering of railroads and similar schemes In the west 



140 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



ten and twenty years ago, that did much to bring on the depression from which the 
country is now happily recovering, should be avoided in this sugar industry. Let ua 
keep the whole thing down to hard pan basis, so that every step taken will be a dis- 
tinct gain, and the whole industry developed on a substantial, businesslike and per- 
manently successful basis. 




SOME NEBRASKA SUGAR BEETS. 



PART FOUR. 



Recent Progress in Beet Sugar 

SINCE JANUARY 1, 1897. 

Compiled from special reports to the author from directors of experiment stations, managers of suga? 
factories, and from many growers of beets, feeders of pulp, etc. 



PART FOUR 



RECENT PROGRESS IN BEET SUGAR. 



CHAPTER I. 

EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

In New England, the beet sugar industry has not obtained any footing of recent 
years. Some of the first experiments in the '70's were the factories at Franklin, Mass., 
and Portland, Me., which failed for the want of a sufficient supply of rich beets. It is 
true, however, that a large part of western and southern New England can grow beets 
to perfection, but at an expenditure for fertilizers and labor that renders it problematical 
whether a sugar factory in southern New England could successfully compete with those 
in western New York or further west. There are no large consecutive tracts of land that 
would be devoted to beets in southern New England, but the supply for the factory would 
have to come from a great number of comparatively small fields within a wide radius, 
w^hich would be another disadvantage. For this and other reasons we have not urged 
the erection of sugar factories in that section. 

IN THE EMPIRE STATE. 

New York bids fair to become a center of the new industry. Her soils, especially in 
the central and western parts of the state, are proving wonderfully adapted to producing 
a heavy tonnage per acre of rich beets. Wayne county in 1898 yielded 16 to 22 tons per 
acre, and the average for all kinds of soil was over 18 tons per acre of dressed beets actu- 
ally shipped to the factory at Rome. These were not little plats or experimental patches, 
but were lots of one to 13 acres, grown by the ordinary farmer. On upland clay loam 
there the yield averaged 17 tons per acre, on gravelly loam upland 16 tons, sandy loam 
upland 21 tons, flat lands 75 tons, and one lot on muck lands made 22 tons per acre. 
The season was not specially favorable. These beets averaged over 15 per cent, sugar 
and above 80 purity, and the farmer on these lands who gets less than 15 tons per acre 
is disanpointed. 

This is as good or better than general average results even in the most favored 
sugar beet sections of California. How conservative is the above may be inferred from 
the following statement by J. L. Stone, assistant in charge of the sugar beet work at the 

Cornell station: 

1898 1897 

Number of farmers in the state who grew beets 400 300 

Number of samples received at the station to date.... 451 495 

Number of analyses embraced in following figures.... 451 495 

Highest sugar in beet, per cent 19.9 20.4 

Lowest sugar in beet, per cent 8.2 11.2 

Average sugar in beet, per cent 14.7 16.1 

Purity, highest, per cent 92.8 96.1 

Purity, lowest, per cent 70.2 71.5 

Purity, average, per cent ? 83.5 



144 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



"It is not surprising that the per cent, of sugar and purity are lower this season 
than last, as the weather conditions at harvest time were exactly such as to produce 
that result. A year ago the Aveather was dry at harvest; this season tne soil was sat- 
urated for weeks before the beets were taken out." We doubt if a season more unfavor- 
able to quality in the beet is likely to occur again in years. Yet even under these condi- 
tions the results of '98 are marvelous. The agricultural experiment station connected 
with Cornell University at Ithaca and the state experiment station at Geneva have both 
done an immense amount of work on sugar beets, especially during 1897-8, and plan Lo 
continue to help the farmer in mastering beet culture. The industry has passed its exper- 
imental stage m the Empire state and is now an established commercial success. Two new 
factories are likely to be erected in time for the '99 crop— at Penn Yan, Yates county, and 
Fredonia, Chautauqua county, and several more are projected. The first campaign of the 




READY FOR THE HARVEST. 
From a photograph taken at the Cornell expetinient station, Ithaca, N. Y. The young men are 
selecting samples of beets from the crop. 

Binghamton Sugar Company, 1898, was quite satisfactory for a beginning. The first New 
York beet sugar company, factory at Rome, N. Y. (see illustrations on Pages 12 and 145), 
completed its second campaign in December, 1898, and made the following record: 

Campaigns of 1898 1897 

Acres of beets grown for factory about 1000 about 600 

Tons of beets delivered 9330 4596 

Av. yield per acre, tons 9 1-3 7^/4 

Av. sugar in beets, per cent about 12.5 about 11.9 

Began making sugar Oct. 20 Oct. 13 

Finished making granulated sugar Dec. 24 Nov. 23 

Days in operation about 64 about 40 

Paid per ton for beets $5.00 $5.00 

Lbs granulated sugar made* 779,425 334,500 

♦This includes only about half the sugar in the beets, the other half being raw 
sugar, extraction of which from molasses will not be finished before April. Had the fall 
been dry, no doubt our entire crop would have averaged 141/2 or 15 per cent. 







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146 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

METHODS OF CULTrRE IN NEW YORK STATE. 

As this State is proving wonderfully adapted to the sugar beet, the culture of the 
crop has received large attention by the two experiment stations. Hundreds of farmers 
have conducted tests under Cornell's direction, and many experiments in field and labor- 
atory have been conducted at both stations. The Cornell work is summarized in Bul- 
letin 143, from which the following is quoted, to be read in connection with or in com- 
parison with the methods described in Part Three: 

"The sugar beet is an exacting crop, and persons unfamiliar with the best meth- 
ods of growing it have much to learn, and will make many mistakes that will cut down 
the profits. 

"Soil — Sugar beets can be grown successfully in quite a variety of soils — gravelly 
loam, sandy loam, loam and clay loam — though a sandy loam is usually considered best 
suited to the crop. Any soil that is well adapted to potatoes will raise sugar beets. While 
the Industry is in its infancy in the state it is wise to select only those soils that are 
believed to be well adapted, and that are in a high state of fertility, and, so far as pos- 
sible, are free from foul weeds. 

"Subsoil — Sugar beets should have a deep soil with a moderately porous subsoil. A 
Bhallow soil with a hard or water soaked subsoil is fatal to the crop. If the soil is 
not right in these respects it may often be made so by thorough drainage and subsoil 
plowing. In fact, land that is naturally quite unsuited to beet growing may, by these 
means, coupled with the growing of deep rooted plants, like the clovers, have its charac- 
ter so changed in a few seasons as to become excellent beet land. 

"Preparation of the soil — The necessity of deep plowing cannot be emphasized too 
much in this connection. The sugar beet should bury itself in the soil the same as a 
parsnip, and it will do so if the soil conditions are right. If, however, the sub-surface 
soil is hard or saturated with water the taproot cannot penetrate into it, or if it does get 
down fairly well, it cannot expand freely in the hard soil, but expands in the direction of 
least resistance, which being upwards the result is a short root, a considerable portion 
of which grows above the surface of the soil. This form of beet is objectionable not only 
because the yield is necessarily less than with long, well formed roots, but the beets are 
very much less valuable for sugar making. 

"It is found that the upper portion of the beet, especially that part that grows 
above ground, is less rich in sugar than the part growing well in the soil, while this same 
part is highly charged with impurities that interfere seriouaiy with the manufacture of 
sugar. 

"The factory people aim to keep the impurities down by requiring that the portion 
of the beet growing above the surface of the ground be cut off. The aim should be to so 
prepare the land that the root can bury itself well in the soil. Thus will be secured not 
only a larger yield, but a smaller percentage of waste in the crown removed. Deep plow- 
ing is therefore essential, and except where the subsoil is very porous it should be loos- 
ened up with a subsoil plow. In those localities where sugar beet growing is established, 
the practice of subsoiling has become general. 

"It is best to plow the land deeply in the autumn, setting the plow to turn up an 
inch or two of new soil. The action of the winter's frosts will ameliorate this soil and 
render it fit for crop growing. Follow the ordinary plow with a subsoil plow, breaking 
up, but not throwing on top, several inches more of the hard soil. The earth should thus 
be stirred to a depth of 12 to 15 inches. This fall treatment is desirable on sev- 
eral accounts. It permits the turning up of more new soil than would be safe in the 
spring. It secures the more complete decomposition of any coarse vegetation that may 
be on the land. It breaks up the compactness of the soil so that it can receive the win- 




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148 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

ter's rain and store it for the next season's crop. Opportunity is given for the re-establish- 
ment of the capillary action in the soil which was disturbed by deep plowing, enabling 
the plant to draw from the deeper reservoirs of moisture during the dry season. 

" It is not advised to plant sod land to beets, but if necessary to do so, it should ba 
fall plowed to give time for the decomposition of the sod, the settling of the soil and the 
re-establishment of capillary action. It should be plowed deep so as to have plenty of 
loose earth for a seed bed without disturbing the decaying sod. Sod land will probably 
suffer more from drouth than other, but with plenty of moisture it will grow large crops 
of beets, which, however, may be low in sugar and in purity on account of too much 
organic matter in the soil. For the same reasons it is best to apply barn manure to the 
preceding crop rather than to the beets, but if used on the beet land it should be applied 
in the fall and plowed under. Another effect of the direct application of barn manure is 
the tendency to produce ill-formed beets. 

"Commercial fertilizers may be applied in the spring, but they should be thor- 
oughly incorporated with the soil. Observations lead to the belief that commercial fer- 
tilizers applied on the surface have a tendency, like recently applied barn manure, to 
cause the development of ill-shaped roots. It is reasonable to suppose that the plant 
finding its food near the surface would throw out branches at this point. No doubt this 
tendency v/ould be most marked in very poor soils and in dry seasons. 

"If the land is not plowed in the fall, then plow deeply in early spring, taking care 
not to turn up much new soil. In the western states experience has taught that subsoil 
plowing in the spring is an- unsafe practice. If abundant rains do not come after the 
plowing is done, to compact the soil and re-establish capillary action, the crop may suffer 
more from drouth than it will be benefited by the loosening of the subsoil. It would 
seem that in this state there w^ould scarcely occur a season when there would not be 
sufficient rainfall after early plowing to properly compact the soil before the dry weather 
of summer sets in. As early in the spring as the land is fit it should be harrowed down 
and left for a week or ten days that the weeds may have a chance to start, when they will 
be easily killed by another working. If this operation can be repeated several times 
before seeding, the crop will be kept clean during the season with much less labor. 

"The seed bed should be thoroughly prepared. The sub-surface should be fairly well 
compacted, the surface fine, level and free from obstructions to cultivation. It is very 
important that a good stand of plants should be secured and this is much facilitated by a 
properly prepared seed bed, but just what tools to use and how much to use them will 
depend upon the character of the soil and the season. 

"Seed — It is of prime importance that first-class seed be used. The modern sugar 
beet is the result of a vast amount of painstaking care and labor in its selection and 
growth and is a highly artificial product. It therefore quickly deteriorates when the 
conditions favorable to the maintenance of its high qualities are wanting. 

"The matter of selecting the varieties and importing the seed is usually left in the 
hands of the factory management. There are a large number of varieties possessing 
somewhat different characteristics and adapted to different classes of soils. Some are 
noted for their high percentage of sugar, but are light croppers and are best suited for 
those localities where the tendency is to grow too large a crop of coarse beets low in 
sugar. Others are better croppers but not so high in sugar, and are adapted to soils 
where the tendency is to produce too light a crop of very rich beets. The Vilmorin and 
the Dervaux are among the very rich varieties, but are rather light croppers; the Klein- 
wanzlebener, the Dippe and the Metta Kleinwanzlebener are among the medium crop- 
pers with a good percentage of sugar, while the Deprez and the Eloir are heavy croppers 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 149 

but rather low in sugar. The Kleinwanzlebener and the Vilmorin have been most grown 
in this country and seem to be best adapted to our soil and conditions. 

"Seeding — For good results it is very necessary to get a good stand. Without it 
the yield will be unsatisfactory and many of the beets, having too much room, will be 
overgrown, resulting in a low percentage of sugar and purity. 

"It is customary to sow about 20 lbs of seed per acre, though if it all grows this is 
many times more than is needed. If dry weather follows the planting, only the best of the 
seed v/ill germinate; if a crust is formed before the plaijts are up, they help one another 
to break through, hence the chances are much better for getting a good stand with heavy 
than with light seeding. 

"A machine that will drop with accuracy three or four seeds in a place 
at such distances apart as experience shows is best for different soils, will 
not only save seed, but will tend to secure an even spacing of the 
plants in the row and greatly reduce the labor . of thinning and 
weeding. In heavy or damp soils the seed should not be covered more than one- 
half to three-fourths of an inch; in light, dry soils one to two inches. The soil should be 
firmed over the seed, the degree to be determined by its character, light soils requiring 
more compacting than heavy ones. On most soils best results are obtained by planting 
in rows from 18 to 22 inches apart. If the rows are much further apart 
than this the beets cannot use all the space and the yield is lessened, or if a good yield 
is secured it is by growing large beets at the expense of quality. 

"Such narrow rows, however, are difficult to cultivate except by those accustomed 
to the worli and having machinery especially designed for it. When the ordinary imple- 
ments of tillage are to be used it would seem wise to allow more room for working 
between the rows, say 24 to 27 inches, and leave the plants a little closer 
in the rows. Those who expect to till considerable areas of beets will do well to 
provide themselves with special seeders and cultivators. These seeders are made to sow 
either two or four rows at a time, and they may be adjusted to sow 16, 18 or 20 inches 
apart, spacing them very accurately. The cultivators work either two or four rows at a 
time and are accurately adjusted to follow the seeder, the workman confining his atten- 
tion to one row while the machinery adjusts itself to the others. Of course such a culti- 
vator can only be used to work rows that are accurately spaced by a special seeder. 

"Those who have both the special seeders and special cultivators may find it advan- 
tageous to adjust the machines so as to sow two rows at either side 16 to 18 inches apart 
and leaving a space of 24 or more inches at the center in which the horse can travel 
easily while cultivating — the cultivator being adjusted the same as the seeder. 

"TillcKjc — Under certain conditions of soil and weather a weeder can be used with 
very great satisfaction for the first working of the land after seeding, but those condi- 
tions are not always present. Should a heavy rain cause a crust to be formed and the soil 
again get dry enough to work before the seeds have thrown out many sprouts, the weeder 
can be used with great benefit to break the crust and destroy small weeds that start 
quicker than the beet seed. Again, on rather light land that is quite free from small 
atones and other impediments to tillage, if the plants have come up quite thickly the 
weeder can be used very advantageously to stir the soil in the rows, thin the beets some- 
what and destroy many small seeds. 

"Regular cultivation should begin as soon as the rows can be followed, and 
repeated as often as necessary to keep the surface loose and prevent weeds from gaining 
a foothold. Under ordinary circumstances tilling fortnightly will probably give as good 
results as tilling weekly, but whenever a crust has been formed by rains it should be bro- 
ken up as soon as the condition of the soil will permit. The weeds will be kept in subjec- 



150 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



tion more economically by frequent light tillage than by fewer cultures, which will 
permit them to get a foothold and require more labor in their destruction. 

"Thinning — This is the most difficult and expensive operation in beet growing, 
and upon its proper execution the success of the crop largely depends. The distance 
between the beets in the row should depend upon the quality of the soil, as on rich, 
moist soil they will thrive if left much thicker than on a poor, dry soil. If planted la 
extra wide rows to facilitate horse culture, they may be left closer in the rows thaa 




A FIELD OF BEETS AT THE CORNELL STATION. 

The rolling lands and rich soils of central and western New York produce heavy yields of rich 
beets, fairly rivaling California. 



otherwise. If the rows are 18 to 20 inch.'s apart the beets should ordinarily be thinned 
to eight to 10 inches in the rows. The first operation of thinning is done with a common 
hoe, having a blade five to seven inches wide, according to the distance apart it is desired 
to have the beets stand when the work is complete. When the beets are well started, and 
usually immediately after the second cultivation, pass along the rows and with the hoe 
strike out portions the widtn of the hoe blade, leaving bunches of two or three inches 
containing several plants. This operation is called bunching and results in the removal 
of the weeds in the row and the stirring of the soil as well as the removal of most of the 
surplus plants. Shortly after the bunching the plants remaining are reduced to one ia 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 151 

a place and all weeds removed by hand pulling. As this work is usually done by cheap 
help it is necessary to watch very closely to see that it is well done. One plant, and that 
the strongest, should be left from each bunch, all the weeds should be pulled, not broken 
off, and if the soil is displaced about the young plant by the removal of the others it 
must be returned but not packed down hard. The thinning should be done as soon as 
the plants have four well formed leaves, and it is better to employ extra help rather than 
to delay this work. If the thinning is delayed, the beets entwine about one another so 
that the roots of those left are injured by the removal of the others, and if the taproot 
is broken the Dlant will never produce a well formed beet. 

"Since the soil will become considerably compacted by the tramping of the workmen 
during the thinning, it should be immediately loosened by horse cultivation, followed by 
a thorough hand hoeing. This working should stir the soil three inches deep and leave the 
crop free from weeds. Under favorable conditions of soil and season the hand hoeing 
just after thinning may be the only one necessary for the ci'op, but if the weeds begin to 
start close to the rows it will be advisable to hand hoe once before thinning. Again, If 
rains interfere with the frequent use of the cultivator after thinning and weeds begin to 
show themselves in the rows, another hand hoeing must be giveu. 

"It is impossible to say just how much tillage may be required for best results, but 
probably one to three hand hoeings and four to six cultivations will be sufficient. 

"The harvest usually begins the first part of October, though with early planting It 
may begin a few weeks before, and it should be completed before hard freezing occurs. 
There are machines for pulling the beets which are said to work very satisfactorily, doing 
the work as fast as a team will travel. A subsoil plow, or a common plow with the mould 
board removed, may be used to loosen the roots. Pull them by hand, throwing into piles 
and topping with a knife. This knife should be heavy enough so that the crown can be 
removed at the earth- line by a single well-directed blow. 

"It is important that farmers should understand how to properly trim the beets, 
for if too much of the crown is left on, carrying with it its large percentage of impurities, 
the value of the beet for the manufacturer is much reduced. When on a visit to the sugar 
factory at Rome, N. Y., the past autumn, a dozen men were found at work in the yard 
removing the crowns from improperly trimmed beets that had been delivered by tke 
farmers. The factory people found it to be better economy to employ men to remove the 
crowns, rather than to work the beets with the crowns on and suffer the loss of sugar 
that would not crystallize in consequence. The farmer gains nothing by sending to the 
factory improperly trimmed beets or those loaded with dirt, as the state weigher samples 
each load, washes, and if necessary trims the sample and determines the percentage of 
dockage. The farmer not only gets nothing for the crown at the factory, but loses its 
value on the farm as stock food and fertilizer. The picture on PagelOl show sheets properly 
and improperly trimmed. Where a large portion of the beet grows out of the ground or 
is ill-formed on account of the soil having been badly prepared, the percentage of waste 
is very much increased. 

"If the beets are not needed at the factory as fast as harvested, they may be pitted 
or siloed in the field the same as potatoes, and drawn or shipped to the factory later, 
when the pressure of farm work is not so great. In pitting it is essential that the beets 
shall be quite mature before harvesting, and that they be secured before freezing occurs, 
as immature or frosted beets will not keep well." 

The Cornell station found (Bulletin 143) that, on the average, 100 lbs of the whole 
beet plant, as grown in New York State, consisted of 57 lbs beet without crown, 17 lbs 
crown and 26 lbs leaves. In 100 lbs of beets from which the leaves were removed, there 







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THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



153 



were 19 lbs of crown and 81 lbs of trimmed beets. Hence, from its analyses, the Cornell 
station concludes that, when freshly harvested and not withered: 

Phos- 

Nitro- Potash phoric Water 

gen acid 

Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds 
1 ton of whole plants (roots, crowns and 

leaves) contains 7.98 11.30 2.28 1583.3 

1 ton of leaves contains 12.80 21.80 2.28 1554.2 

1 ton of beets (roots and crowns) contains. ... 6.17 7.54 2.27 1593.5 

1 ton of leaves contains 12.80 21.80 2.28 1554.2 

1 ton of crowns contains 8.C0 9.00 2.40 1594.6 

1 ton of crownless beets contains 5.60 7.20 2.24 1593.2 

Factory by-products. 

1 ton of extracted cossettes*, or beet pulp 1.82 1.72 .32 1828.0 

1 ton of molasses* 21.40 65.20 .34 832.0 

1 ton of lime-cake* 2.48 3.05 8.47 871.2 

Now, if the leaves are left in the ground or fed to stock, and the crowns are fed 
to stock and the manure put back on the land, the soil is robbed only of the plant food 
in the crownless beets — say 4 to 6 lbs of nitrogen, 5 to 8 lbs of potash and 2 to 3 lbs of 
phosphoric acid for every ton of trimmed beets removed. 

* The extracted cossettes, molasses and lime-cake were received from the Rome 
beet sugar factory. The extracted cossettes, or beet pulp, is a by-product of the diffusion 
tanks. The molasses is a by-product of the centrifugal machines. The lime-cake is a 
by-product of the carbonation tanks. The lime-cake contained 25.96 per cent, of lime 
(CaO). 

Note. — The pounds per ton of any of the above stated plant-foods, divided by 20 will 
give the per cent of that plant-food in the material, — thus : 7.98 lbs. nitrogen -f 20 = 399 
per cent of nitrogen in whole plant, or 0.399 of 1 lb. of nitrogen in 100 lbs. of the whole plant. 

f^i 




PROPOSED SUGAR FACTORT AT CARO, MICH. 
Arrangements have abont been completed for the erection of a beet sugar faetory at Caro, Tus- 
cola county. Micliigan. This will be the second suear factory in this state, the other being at Bay 
€lty, forty miles from Caro. It has been demoiistrateil that the soil of Tuscola county is well adapted 
for raising sugar beets, containing a high percentage of saccharine matter, and tliat the farmers are 
perfectly willing to make coTitracts for producing a certain tonnage. The proposed factory will be 
over 400 feet long and 200 wide, covering somewhat less than two acres of ground. The beet sheds will 
occupy a like area. The factory will cost when completed $500,000, and will work up 500 tons of beets 
per day. Over 50,000 tons will be needed for one season's run, and the farmers will be paid $200,000 for 
raising and delivering this amount. 



164 THE SUGAR INDUSTKY. 

MICHIGAN A GREAT SUGAR STATE. 

The admirable work of the state experiment station and of farmers in testing the 
culture of sugar beets in the various counties has resulted in a magnificent showing. A 
large part of the state proves to be peculiarly adapted to the crop. The yield per acre 
ranges from 12 to 18 tons. In '97 nearly 500 samples from 64 counties made the remark- 
able average of over 16 per cent, sugar, averaging 83 purity, while 465 samples properly 
grown on the right kind of soil averaged 16.48. 

The state bounty of Ic p lb on all sugar produced for at least seven years from 
March 26, 1887, led to the erection of the factory at Bay City, which closed its first cam- 
paign in '98, and its capacity is to be doubled for the '99 campaign. Another factory of 
750 tons' capacity is to be built at Bay City or vicinity in time for the campaign of '99, 
and another at Caro, Tuscola county, of 500 tons' capacity. The labor cost of growing an 
acre of beets under adverse conditions at the agricultural college farm near Lansing was 
$29.40, reckoning man and team at 25c per hour, man alone 12V2C, boy 8c, while the aver- 
age yield per acre was over 14 tons. In 1898, the farmers' profits ran from $15 to $30 per 
acre, after allowing $6 per acre for rent, paying full prices for labor and other expenses. 
The greatest profits were made where women and children were hired at 65 to 75c per day. 
Much of the labor was done by children at a time when the schools were not in session. 
Altogether the industry may be said to be an established success in Michigan, and the 
farmers are ready to raise beets for all the factories that may be built. 

WISCONSIN EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN SINGULARLY INSTRUCTIVE 

since the appearance of the author's first book in January, '97. At that time, it seemed 
as though the little sugar mill at Menomonee Falls, Waukesha county, as described on 
Page 60, would ultimately be a success. It proved, however, that some of the machinery 
was not properly constructed, the mill was very late in starting up and we believe the 
creditors came down upon it before the campaign was ended. The financial tangle has 
not been cleared up as we write, while some experts who have looked over the plant 
criticise the outfit very severely. Be it fully understood, however, that the trouble in 
this case was not with the farmers or the beets, but was wholly with the factory, its equip- 
ment and management, and was mainly due to prolonged lack of capital. It is too bad 
that the well meant efforts of the builder should have ended so disastrously. The inci- 
dent emphasizes the importance of sufficient capital and proper equipment and right 
management in the factory as well as in the field. We let our original paragraphs on 
this factory stand v/ithout change, simply to emphasize the importance of the lessons 
taught by the outcome. 

This result should not discourage the beet sugar industry in Wisconsin, for that 
state has shown a marvellous adaptability to the crop. The Northwestern Beet Sugar 
Company's factory at Merrillan, Jackson county, is to be ready for the '99 crop. It will 
probably have a capacity of 500 tons of beets per day and is contracting for several thou- 
sand acres of beets. Wisconsin not only has a soil and climate adapted to the sugar beet, 
but a considerable proportion of her thrifty farmers of German birth have had considerablo 
experience with the crop in the old country, and are anxious to have home markets cre- 
ated for this new crop in their new homes. 

IN OTHER STATES. 

Pennsylvania is coming to the front with tests of sugar beets of gratifying quality. 
Of course the crop does better in some soils than in others, and yields from eight to 20 tons 




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156 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

per acre. Director Armsby of the state experiment station at State College, Center 
county, reports for this work the following gratifying exhibit: 

1898 1897 
No, of farmers in the state who grew beets in an 

experimental way, about 1000 

No. of samples received at station from crop 

grown in 495 83 

No. analyses embraced in following figures 492 83 

Highest and lowest sugar in beet, per cent 17.4-77 19.7-7 

Average sugar in beet, per cent 12.3 12.1 

Purity, highest and lowest, per cent 98-66 94-60 

Purity, average, per cent 81.7 79.7 

In Ohio, the interest in sugar beets continues very keen. In spite of the extraordi- 
narily unfavorable season of 1898, the tests made by the Ohio experiment station (A. D. 
Selby, chemist) showed a range of from over 8 to 15 per cent, sugar, with an average of 
11.4, compared to 13.3 in '97 for the entire state. The leaf spot tungns, Percosporabeticola, 
injured beets greatly in '98. About 400 farmers have grown beets in an experimental way 
in both years, with results that are thus summarized in a forthcoming bulletin from the 
state exneriment station at Wooster: 

Av. Weight Sugar in 

Number of beets beets. Purity Co- 

samples ozs. per cent. efficient 

Section, etc. 1897 189S 1897 1898 3897 1898 1897 1898 

Southern section 67 50 31.4 18.4 12.2 10.9 75.3 76.9 

Middle section 132 153 32.6 19.6 13.2 11.1 78.0 76.9 

Northern section 355 295 29.2 25.0 13.6 11.6 79.4 78.7 

Entire state 554 498 30.6 22.7 13.3 11.4 78.7 77.9 

Indiana is certainly a sugar beet state, and the encouraging prospect there a few 
years ago is now more than confirmed. Efforts to secure factories are being made in 
various parts of the state and seem likely to succeed soon at Fort Wayne and North 
Judson. Prof. C. S. Plumb, director of the Indiana experiment station, writes us: 

"The lower results of 1898 crop are due to a very warm, moist summer and fall, 
"Which did not permit the beets io properly ripen in many cases. In certain sections of 
northern Indiana, however, in spite of these adverse conditions, many fine results were 
secured, grading considerably above manufacturers' requirements." 

In the following table, no averages are given. In view of the fact that many growers 
do not follow directions for growing the beet, so that the crop over the state is more or 
less improperly grown, we regard average figures as unfair and misleading: 

1898 1897 
No. of farmers in the state who grew beets in an 

experimental way, about 1173 500 

No. of samples received at station from crop 

grown in 425 307 

No. of analyses embraced in following figures 425 307 

Highest and lowest sugar in juice, per cent 17.2-6.4 22.9-6.3 

Purity, highest and lowest, per cent 96.8-64 96.4-57 

Illinois has an enterprising state sugar beet growers' association. In co-operation 
•with it. farmers in various parts of the state have conducted experiments with the 
assistance of the experiment station connected with the University of Illinois at Cham- 
paign. During '98, the local organizations at 10 or 12 points each grew from five to 10 
acres of beets for commercial purposes under direction of an expert. The tonnage was 
exceedingly high, but the sugar content somewhat lower than in '97. Prof. Davenport, 
director of the station, concludes that the results are upon the whole quite promising. 




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158 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Previous experiments have shown the capacity of many sections of the state to raise ricli 
beets. The Illinois Sugar Refining Company has been organized to build and eqnip a beet 
sugar mill at Pekin, Tazewell Co., 111., which will have a capacity of 350 tons per day 
with provision for doubling it. This concern is contracting for several thousand acres 
of beets in '99 and thereafter, and will pay for the same $4 per ton delivered at the 
factory, for beets testing 12 per cent, sugar and 80 purity, and 25c for each 1 per cent, 
of sugar above that. ^^ ^^^^ ^„^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ 

In New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware, what tests have been made in growing 
the sugar beet have so far been unsatisfactory in yield of beets, sugar content and 
purity. Another effort was made in 1S98, when 51 New Jersey farmers planted their 
crops, but only 24 sent samples to the experiment station. These tested 7.5 to 13.9 per 
cent, sugar, of 70 to 88 purity, averaging 11 and 78. Director Voorhees writes us (Jan- 
uary, 1899) : "The results of our experiments in growing sugar beets are not encour- 
aging — the sugar content is, on the average, too low to make it advisable to grow them 
for manufacturing purposes, besides, the yield was not large enough in the case of those 
which showed a reasonably high content of sugar to make it profitable for farmers 
tc grow*them at the usual price paid. I do not know at present of any parties who are 
contemplating the manufacture of beet sugar in this state. We have not published any 
bulletins on the subject, as the data have not warranted such preparation." 

Efforts were made in 1897-8 to establish a sugar factory near Richmond, Va., but 
without success. More cultural tests are needed in both the Virginias before one can 
pass intelligently upon their adaptability to tliis crop. North Carolina and Kentucky 
results during the past three years have not been encouraging, though the tests were 
not extensive. In Tennessee the prospect is much more hopeful. 











YARD OF BEETS AT ROME (N. Y.) FACTORY. 

0tfiowing where the beets are shoveled into the water trough in which they are partially washed on 

tlieir way to tlie factory. 




IN THE LOS ALAMITOS SUGAR WORKS. 
At the left, two carbonation tanks out of a row of eight. At right, sacking the refined sugar. 



CHAPTER II. 
From the Mississippi to the Mountains. 

GREAT INTEPiEST IN MINNESOTA. 

For more than 10 years the farmers of Minnesota have been growing the sugar 
beet in an experimental way. They have been ably assisted by the state experiment 
station at St. Anthony Park. The results up to date were published in Orange Judd Parmer 
in the fall of '96 and aroused a still keener interest. Early in '98 the station published a 
bulletin summarizing its results for the past 10 years. This demonstrated conclusively 
that Minnesota is capable of producing high grade sugar beets. This last exhibit, and 
the Dingley tariff, removed all possible doubts and led to the establishment by the Min- 
nesota Sugar Company of its factory at St. Louis Park, near the twin cities, for which 
2200 acres of beets were contracted in this state. Two weeks before the close of the season 
the factory chemist stated that the average of 1100 samples was a sugar content of 
14.04 per cent, and a purity coefficient of 83. This was practically the average reported 
by Chemist Snyder of the station for the previous 10 years, 14.22 per cent. Mr. Snyder, 
who deserves unstinted credit for his persistent efforts in behalf of the industry, 
writes us: 

"This factory has made a successful run and has produced a very high grade of 
granulated sugar. The factory has a capacity of 350 tons per day, and it is the intention 

(159) 



160 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



to double its capacity before the next crop is harvested. There is one encouraging 
feature regarding the production of beet sugar in this state, and that is, the unusually 
high quality of the beets. This year the early varieties of beets planted under favor- 
able conditions were ready for the factory about August 25, which made a working 
season of over three months. The station has been making numerous analyses of 
limestone from different parts of the state with the view of locating the high grade 
stone most suitable for refining beet sugar. There is an abundance of lime in the state, and 
so far five localities have been found where high grade limestone may be obtained suit- 
able for beet sugar purposes." 




THE MINNESOTA SUGAR COMPANY. 
Beet sheds and flume in foreground, factory proper in background. 



The mill at St. Louis Park closed its first campaign December 10, 1898. Many 
farmers failed to live up to their contracts, and only 12,000 tons of beets were received 
from about 1200 acres, while 2200 acres were contracted. However, farmers are eager 
to enlarge their area for '99: many who never raised beets want to contract, and their 
encouragement has decided the company to double its factory, and to contract for 5000 
acres for '99, in hopes of starting up in October and running to the middle of January. 
Factory furnishes seed at 15c per lb, and leases implements for culture at 25c per acre 
for each machine. It offers $3 per ton for beets containing 10 per cent, sugar, of at least 
78 purity (nothing inferior to this standard accepted), $3.50 for 11-78, and $4 for 12 
to 14 per cent, and 78 purity, and 25c for each additional 1 per cent of sugar above 14. 
As the average for 1898 was 14% per cent., many going up to 16 or 17 per cent., it is hoped 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



161 




CENTRIFUGALS AT THE MINNESOTA BEET SUGAR FACTORY. 

One of the notable achievements in this industry is the equipping of our domestic sugar factories 
with American made macliinery. Most of tlie new mills now being built are fitted throughout with 
machinery and apparatus made in the United States. The factory of the Minnesota sugar company 
is a case in point, our illustration showing the centrifugals made by the American Tool and Machine 
Co., Hyde Park, Massachusetts. The many improvements in American sugar machinery also make it 
very popular in both domestic and foreign sugar houses. Over $200,000,000 worth of machinery and 
apparatus will be needed to fit out the number of mills required to produce in the United States 
the sugar our people consume. 



162 THE SUGAB INDUSTRY. 

that future years will see averages of 15 to 16 per cent. The company has about $500,000 
invested, its mill is first-class and it has done a vast amount of work through its agri- 
cultural department to teach farmers how to grow beets, having had three and four 
experts constantly employed in this way. The accompanying pictures give more facts 
about this promising plant (see also Page 5). The state is expected to revive the bounty 
of Ic per lb. 

WELL ESTABLISHED IN NEBRASKA. 

Nebraska had a fair season in 1897 for sugar beets and for her two factories at 
Grand Island and Norfolk. The 1898 campaign was entirely satisfactory in its results, 
farmers and mill owners are well pleased, a million dollar beet sugar factory enterprise 
is to be established at Ames, Nebraska, on the ranch of the Standard Cattle Company, 
and an immense acreage of beets is being contracted for 1899. The state experiment 
station continues its good work and has "made some 10,000 analyses of mother beets that 
have a high percentage of sugar— 18 to 19 per cent." After all its trials and tribulations, 
the beet sugar industry is now well established in Nebraska, to the great advantage 
of its farmers and laborers, and at a fair profit to investors in its sugar factories. 

The campaign of 1898 at Grand Island was very gratifying for the large yields per 
acre. One large tract, well cultivated, made 21 tons per acre, and the whole area har- 
vested, 1970 acres, gave 18,165 tons of dressed beets, net weight at factory. These beets 
averaged 14 per cent, of sugar of 81 purity, or the best showing yet made. The product 
was 3,595,000 lbs. of standard granulated sugar, or 197 lbs. of sugar to the ton of beets, 
besides molasses and reworkings. In previous seasons, the factory has got from 122 to 
175 lbs. refined granulated per ton of beets. In '96, it made 2516 tons of sugar from 
30,100 tons of beets, and in 1897 got 3399 tons sugar from 38,600 tons of beets. The area 
contracted in '98 was reduced, owing to the uncertainty over Hawaii, but a very large 
acreage is being contracted for this mill for the '99 campaign. 

The Norfolk factory also made a good campaign in 1898, receiving upwards of 50,000 
tons of beets, which averaged over 14 per cent, sugar and 80 purity, and made some 
10,000,000 lbs. of sugar. It has extracted 157 to 218 lbs. of sugar per ton of beets in pre- 
vious seasons, the highest in '97. In that campaign, it made 3970 tons of sugar from 
36,270 tons beets, grown on 4029 acres, or an average extraction of 10.95 per cent., on a 
run of 110 days. The campaign of '97 resulted in 1588 lbs. of granulated sugar as the 
mean for each acre of beets harvested. Land all through the vicinity rents for $4 to $7 
an acre, averaging about $5. Says the Norfolk Axw;.s: "The average yield of the 1898 
crop has been from 10 to 12 tons, giving the farmer a gross revenue of from $45 to $54 
to the acre. As the cost of raising beets, through a better understanding of the crop, 
learned by experience, is never more than $25 per acre, and more frequently less, it 
will be seen that there is no other crop that can compare to beets for profit." 

OTHER WESTERN STATES. 

Iowa experience since '91 confirms Secretary Wilson's opinion on Page 68. 
Eighty samples were analyzed at the state experiment station by Chemist J. B. Weems, 
between August 27 and Oct. 29. '98, of which 38 contained less than 12 per cent, sugar 
and below SO purity, while the rest ranged from 13 to 16 sugar and 78-80 purity. Out 
of 55 samples received from October 29 to December 14, '98, 20 were less than 12-80, 13 
were between 12 and 13 and over 80, and the rest ran up to 15-17 per cent. The evidence 
is conclusive that Iowa is a great sugar state. 

Missouri has been a center of great interest, but the results in beet culture in 
that state are not encouraging. We do not yet say that there are no localities in 



THE BEET SUGA.R INDUSTRY. 



163 



Missouri adapted to a commercial success of this business, although Prof. H. J. Waters, 
director of the state experiment station, writing us Dec. 29, '98, concludes: "The results 
of all the work done by this station and the United States government indicate that there 
is little to encourage the hope that Missouri will soon become a sugar producing state." 
Some 1200 farmers grew beets in an experimental way in '98 and about 1100 in '97, but 



GLIMPSE.S INTO THE OGDEN 
(UTAH) SUGAR HOUSE. 




Center illustration shows lower floor, look- 
ing toward base of diffusion batteries. Upper 
picture, two of the four large evaporator*. 
Lower view, crystallizers. 



the results of '98 were not as good as the previous season. Out of 150 samples analyzed, 
only seven showed as much as 12 per cent, of sugar in the beet. The continued wet 
weather of spring greatly delayed planting and the warm wet weather m fall pre- 
vented beets from maturing perfectly. t, * t rr. 
Kansas is another state that, like Missouri, gives conflicting results. Prof. J. T. 
Willard, director of the experiment station at Manhattan, writes us Jan. 2. '99, "I know 
of no serious efforts at present to establish beet sugar factories in this state and should 
discourage such until a careful test of the proposed locality had been made. He 
submits tables of a large number of analyses of beets grown in Kansas in 98 and 97, 



164 THE SUGAR IJSDUSTRY. 

showing from 8 lo 17 per cent, sugar in beet and averaging lli^ to 12 per cent., with 
a purity average of 76-78, and running in some cases over 90. These figures certainly 
show encouragement, in contradistinction to the idea that has been circulated that 
Kansas could not produce rich beets. A classification of the past two years' work is 
thus described by Director Willard: 

"I have arranged this year's results by counties from northwest to southeast 
across the state. A study of the figures from that point of view discloses some inter- 
esting facts. Of the 20 growers living northwest of a line connecting Washington and 
Stanton counties, which cuts off less than one-third of the state, five or 25 per cent, of 
them sent samples containing over 14 per cent, of sugar, 11 or 55 per cent, of them 
sent samples containing over 13 per cent, of sugar, and 15 or 75 per cent, of them sent 
samples containing over 12 per cent, of sugar. Of the 90 growers living in the part of 
the state southeast of the line named, or in over two- thirds of the state, four or only about 
4 per cent of them sent in samples containing over 14 per cent, of sugar, 16 or about 
18 per cent, of them sent in samples containing over 1-3 per cent, of sugar, and 20 or 
22 per cent, of them sent in samples containing over 12 per cent, of sugar. The line 
named is approximately parallel to the isotherm of 70 degrees for the monthsof June, July 
and August, and about 200 miles southeast of it, as located by Dr. Wiley. It would seem 
that northwest of the line the prospect for successful beet production, especially by 
Irrigation, is very good. The advantages of a successful sugar beet factory to a local- 
ity are very great, but the injury of a boom collapsed is only too well known to our citi- 
zens. If the experiment station saves us from the latter it will repay its cost for many 
years; it stands ready to assist to the former if its analyses of properly grown beets 
point to commercial success in that line. Let every locality hoping to establish this indus- 
try, first thoroughly test its soil capacity and the willingness of its citizens, by showing 
that it can raise the necessary raw material, before it puts money, or more likely bonds, 
into an exnensive factory." 

Colorado has certainly demonstrated her adaptability to the beet sugar industry. 
Large crops of rich beets can be grown in a variety of places. The average quality of 
sugar upon 600 fields or plots of beets grown in 1898 was over 15 per cent, of sugar of 
over SO purity, and the yield was from 12 to 20 tons per acre, average 16 tons. The results 
in some sections are astonishing, notably in the Arkansas, Platte and San Luis valleys. 
In each of these localities, the farmers are ready and eager to pledge the necessary acre- 
age for one or more factories which could be located convenient to cheap and good coal, 
lime and water. "As high as 36 tons per acre have been obtained under irrigation in Weld 
and Larimer counties, and a shipment of these beets to the Grand Island factory in 
Nebraska resulted in an average of 13 lbs of pure granulated sugar to 100 lbs of beets, 
or 9,360 lbs of refined sugar per acre." (?) The Colorado experiment station at Fort 

Collins makes the following report: 

1898 1897 
No. of farmers in the state v/ho grew beets in an 

experimental way, about 600 275 

No. of samples received at station from crop 

grown in 850 225 

No. analyses embraced in following figures 454 156 

Highest and lowest sugar in beet, per cent 22-8 17-6 

Average sugar in beet, per cent 15.4 10.8 

Purity, highest and lowest, per cent 91-50 89-46 

Purity, average, per cent 80.1 73.6 

It is probable, in fact certain, that more people raised beets than the figures given 
above, but as they made no report we cannot count them. The figures for 1897 include 
a great many green crops t-ampled early in the season; more than half the samples are 
of this kind. The average of the ripe crops is 12.8 per cent, sugar in the beet and 78 per 
cent, purity. In 1898 the samples were not taken until most of the crops were ripe. The 
year 1897 was very unfavorable for sugar beets, while 1898 was rather favorable than 
otherwise. Had every analysis of each year been included, the above figures would be 
scarcely changed. 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



165 



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166 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

Certain sections of Wyoming produce heavy crops of rich beets, especially 
under irrigation. The same is true of Idaho, Nevada and North Dakota. 

In South Dakota, many experiments have been tried for several years which 
demonstrate the adaptability of the sugar beet to that region. In '97, probably 1000 farm- 
ers grew beets in an experimental way, and out of 300 samples received at the state 
experiment station, Director Shepard reports that the sugar in the beets ranges from 12 
to 23 per cent., average 16.4, with a purity of from 72 to 92, and average S6, a remark- 
ably high showing. The past season 25 farmers have been growing the beet on a com- 
mercial scale, from one-fourth to one acre, to determine the profits of the crop, at Brook- 
ings, Huron, Yankton, Sioux Falls and Aberdeen. Samples from these crops show from 
13 to 26 per cent, sugar of 77 to 94 purity, also a fine exhibit. 

"Montana can grow a sufficient quantity of beets in any one of several agricultural 
valleys to supply several factories. The beets would meet the requirements for sugar 
content and purity." Thus writes Director Emery of th-e state experiment station at 
Bozeman. He submits figures shewing a large number of tests in '97 and a lesser number 
in '98, that show from 10 to 20 per cent, sugar in the beet of from 63 to 96 purity, or an 
average of about 16 per cent, sugar and something over 80 purity. "The lowest results 
are obtained where alkali is excessive and serves to lower the average." 

In the southwest, Oklahoma and the extreme west of Texas will probably be found 
to contain much good sugar beet land. Arizona certainly does, but of course needs irri- 
gation. 

New Mexico has one sugar factory at Eddy, in the Pecos valley, southeastern part 
of the territory. The country is so new that the settlers have much to learn about grow- 
ing the crop, and the factory has hardly had a fair chance yet, but there is every reason 
to believe in the ultimate success of the industry in that section. One carload of beets 
in '96 averaged 24 per cent, sugar of 92 purity. The factory sliced 134 tons per day the first 
season and 160 its second campaign. Some 30 tons of mother beets, planted from seed in 
February, '98, averaged 19-84. The '98 crop on 2000 acres ranged from 7 to 15 tons per 
acre, averaging 16 per cent., and with favorable conditions should make 20,000 tons. 

1898 1897 1896 

Acres of beets grown 1500 1900 1500 

Tons of beets produced 9000 5700 7800 

Average yield of beets in tons per acre. .... .. 6.0 3.0 5.2 

Per cent of sugar in beets 14.5 14.3 16.2 

Per cent of purity in beets =.. 87 80 82 

Per cent of sugar extracted from beets 10 10.53 5.77 

Pounds of sugar made per ton of beets 200 210 116 

Pounds of sugar made per acre of beets. 1200 632 600 

Tons of sugar produced .,, 900 600 450 

Days factory ran 60 40 60 

PROSPERITY IN UT.MI. 

We are now able to add the results of its last three campaigns to the exhibit of 
Utah's first sugar mill at Lehi, published on Page 58. Its '96 and '98 campaigns were 
both very successful, but the '97 season was bad for beets and unsatisfactory for the mill. 
The '98 campaign was the most successful season for both farmers and factory since it 
started in '91. Many fields averaged 15 to 20 tons of dressed beets per acre. While only 
about the same amount of beets was received as in '96, improvements in quality of beets 
and in methods of agriculture and manufacture have helped along. The amount of sugar 
in the beets has averaged 14l^ per cent., compared to 12.6 last year, 13.9 in '96, and around 
11 per cent, in the previous seasons. This factory has paid particular attention to theselec- 



TSHB BEET SUGAR I2JDUSTRY. 

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168 



THE SUGAR INDUSTEY. 



tion of mother beets and propagation of the best seed, with encouraging results specified. 
A considerably larger area has been contracted for the '99 crop. Farmers have been well 
pleased with the results, while the factory has also earned a handsome dividend. Its 
reports enable the author to make the following comparisons: 

1896 1897 1898 

Acres of beets grown 3,200 2,500 3,200 

Tons of beets produced 43,500 17,500 43,150 

Average yield per acre, tons 13.5 6.75 13.5 

Per cent, of sugar in beets 13.9 12.6 14,5 

Purity of sugar, per cent 82.5 S2.0 83.0 

Crude sugar per acre, lbs 3,753 1,701 3,915 

Refined sugar per acre, lbs 3,096 1,305 3,549 

Refined sugar per acre obtained, lbs 2,862 1,355 3,422 

Began making sugar Sept. 15 Sept. 25 Sept. 8 

Finished making sugar Jan 23 Nov. 23 Dec. 28 

Tons of sugar made 4,578 1,858 5.000 

Per cent, sugar extracted 10.6 9.9 11.8 

Lbs sugar extracted per ton of beets. . .. 212 198 236 




UNLOADING BEETS AT THE LA GRANDE FACTORY, OREGON 
The beet sheds are 400 feet long. Factory iu background, viewed from southwest. 



The second sugar mill to be established in Utah is the Ogden Sugar Company, 
whose factory at Ogden made its initial campaign in 1898. The company was not organ- 
ized until December, '97, but in spite of that late date, succeeded in getting about 2000 
acres planted in northern Utah, the crop from which has to be hauled from one to 100 
miles. The manager wrote us November 3, 1898: 

"We are just now in the midst of the 1898 campaign, having worked something 
like 12,000 tons, and expect to work altogether about 25,000 tons; the highest yield to an 
acre has been 30 tons, the lowest 7% tons. The per cent, of sugar varies from nine to 20 
per cent.; the average is about 14 per cent., with an average of 80 per cent, coefiicient pur- 
ity. We pay $4 per ton for beets delivered at factory. The sugar produced is excellent. 
The campaign began Sept. 27, and we expect it to end early in December. Our valley is 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



169 



/lot rery old, and we do not anticipate any trouble from frost, hence have not taken any 
precaution to store beets against frost. Next year, when we expect a great quantity of 
beets, we will doubtless investigate that matter. The farmers who have intelligently 
taken care of their crops are very well satisfied, but those who have failed to do so are 
correspondingly dissatisfied, and attribute the result to almost any other cause than their 
own neglect. The factory is not in a position to make a truthful complaint for a firU 
year's run, but should we have to compete against cheap land and cheap labor produc- 
tions of the West Indies and Philippines, of course the entire enterprise would cease, the 
money invested be lost and the source of revenue for 1000 or more farmers be absolutely 
stopped. We expect next year to grow about 5000 acres, and with the average produced this 
year, we expect a yield of over 60,000 tons of beets. We shall commence our campaign 
as early as Sept. 1, and hope to run at least 100 days." 




THE PULP DUMP 
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CHAPTER III. 

ON THE PACIFIC COAST. 

Washington is the only state on the Pacific coast, which, at this writing (January, 
•99)hasnotone or more beetsugar mills. It is probable, however, that two factories will be 
built in Washington in time for the '99 crop, one in the Yakima valley and the other at 
some other point in eastern Washington, Experiments continued over a series of years 
indicate that in Washington, as in Oregon, there is some danger of a second growth of 
beets, owing to warm rains in the fall, on the coast slope, but this trouble seldom occurs 
east of the mountains. 

Oregon has proven to be a remarkable state for raising a heavy tonnage of rich 
beets, where the culture has been properly followed. The first factory in the state was 
built in 1898 at La Grande, Union county, northeastern Oregon, not far from the Idaho 
line, by the Oregon Sugar Company, as is described in connection with the accompanying 
illustrations. Considering the haste with which this enterprise was started and the inex- 
perience of the farmers in growing beets, its first campaign was quite satisfactory. The 
company writes us as follows: 

"Our beet crop for 1898 was very light, only some 8151 tons being harvested, from 
which we manufactured 1,850,000 lbs. dry granulated sugar. Drouth (unusual) and the 
hurried work necessary to get everything into operation during this season, and the 
ignorance of the farmers in regard t,o the growing of this crop, are the causes of the short- 
age in tonnage. Another cause was the mistaken idea that beets could be grown like 
wheat, in tracts of hundreds of acres. Instead of the growers confining themselves to 10 
or 20, or possibly 40 acres, they contracted to grow 100, 200, and in some instances as 
many as 600 acres of beets. The result was, few hands to thin, cultivate and harvest, and 
the crop was neglected. For next season a strong effort is being made to divide up the 
large areas into smaller tracts, and induce bona fide settlers to come in and work up this 
land to sugar beet culture. Indications are that there will be quite a number of people, 
who understand this industry, come here during the winter, prepared to begin operations 
early in the spring. Although our season was a shoi't one, the run was very satisfactory 
in every respect. The yield of sugar per ton of beets was large. The beets yielded a heavy 
per cent, of sugar, averaging 15.72 per cent, with 84.6 purity." 

An average of within a fraction of 16 per cent, sugar in the beet and 85 purity is 
absolutely unprecedented in the beet sugar industry of the world. If such results can be 
obtained during a first season with unusually unfavorable climate and all other condi- 
tions against a good crop, certainly the industry ought to be a success in future years, as 
its agricultural details become better and better mastered. 

A MARVELOUS SUCCESS IN CALIFORNIA. 

All that was said about the beet sugar industry in the Golden state in my book two 
years ago (see Part 2, Chapter II herewith) has been more than confirmed by experience 
since. And this in face of the fact that, owing to the worst drouth in 40 years, the season 
of 1898 was agriculturally the most disastrous that the beet sugar industry of California 
ever saw. Without exception, all of the old factories in the state have largely increased 
their plants and output since 1896, and several new mills have been constructed, or 
are now being completed for the '99 crop. A number of other factory enterprises are 
also being worked up, and will doubtless be built, unless Congress puts a premium on free 

(171) 



173 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

sugar from the tropics. The illustrations in this book give full particulars about both new 
and old factories. The mill at Spreckels is the largest beet sugar factory in the -world, con- 
siderably exceeding the largest institution of its kind in Europe. The great plant of the 
Pacific Sugar Company at Oxnard, with its daily capacity of 2800 tons of beets, is two- 
thirds as large as that at Spreckels (see Page VIII). The other mills have a capacity of 
1000 tons 01 beets daily. 

California has the great advantage that in some sections planting can begin on the 
upland and earlier and warmer soils in January and February and continue upon the 
lower and colder soils until well into May. This enables the harvest to begin in August 
and continue until January again. No protection, except sheds to keep off the rains, is 
required for the beets after they are harvested. Director Hilgard adds: 

"The perfect ventilation so secured maintains the sugar content of the roots 
unchanged for a much greater length of time, the temperature being sufficiently low to 
prevent a tendency to sprout until about the middle of February, when, as a rule, the 
beets are still in better average condition than where they have to be stored under- 
ground. There is thus no difficulty whatever in lengthening the campaign in California 
to full six months, and probably more, if early shipments from the southern part of the 
great valley should be found feasible. 

"In respect to the growing and cultivation of the beet, also, California enjoys a not 
inconsiderable advantage in the fact that the absence of summer rains in ordinary sea- 
sons does away with a large proportion of the expensive manual labor in hoeing and 
weeding, which forms a considerable item in the cost of production both in Europe and in 
the east. With thorough preparation of the soil, a single weeding is sufficient, where 
elsewhere three are necessary in order to carry a clean crop to maturity." 

Much stress is also attached to the higher sugar percentage and greater purity- 
secured by California beets, it is true that many crops have been delivered to California 
factories that contained from 15 to 18 per cent, sugar in the beet with a purity coefficient 
of 80 to 85. In Europe, the percentage ranges from 12 to 14, and at the best Silesian fac- 
tory, at Stobnitz, runs as high as from 15 to 16 in good seasons. In view of the remark- 
able richness of beets that are being grown in other parts of the United States, notably 
in New York, Michigan and Oregon, it may be a question how far California possesses 
any advantage in this respect. Time alone will tell. 

It is certain, however, that California possesses a large area of magnificent beet 
land, "especially in the valleys of the coast region, from Mendocino to Los Angeles, and 
the Sacramento and lower San Joaquin valleys." The success of the crop in southern 
California on properly selected soils has also been most marked. Prof. Hilgard points out 
that less than one-tenth of the entire valley area in the state would produce the present 
estimated annual consumption of sugar in the United States. To test the availability of 
alkali lands for beets, many experiments have been carried on at various sub-sta- 
tions under Prof. Hilgard's direction, and he concludes: "It has been proven beyond 
question that sugar beets of good, and even high grade, both as to sugar and purity, may 
be grown on lands containing as much as 12,000 pounds of alkali salts per acre to the 
depth of three feet; provided, that the percentage of common salt in the soil does not 
exceed an average of .04 per cent., or 1500 pounds, per acre. Even this may not, of course, 
represent the maximum compatible with good quality, but is the highest figure that has 
yielded such, viz.. good quality, in the course of our experiments thus far." 

The historic Alameda Sugar Company's mill at Alvarado continues so successful 
that $200,000 were spent in doubling its capacity for the '97 campaign. A picture of the 
mill, as enlarged, is given on Page 33. The campaign of '96 lasted 154 days — Aug, 24 tO 
Jan. 24. The average purity in 1898 was 83, very good. The company is contracting for 
10,000 acres of beets for '99, and with a six months' campaign, expect to work up 100,00ft 




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174 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

to 125,000 tons of beets, for which $4.50 per ton will be paid, same as in '98. The drouth 
of '98 caused only 4000 acres to be harvested out of 6000 contracted, and reduced the yield 
seriously, the product being 3634 tons granulated sugar, compared to 5000 tons previous 
season. 

1898 1897 1896 1895 1894 1893 1892 

Acres of beets grown 4,000 4,808 3,500 2,400 2,894 1,803 1,594 

Tons of beets produced 36,500 48,773 48,500 27,400 39,800 20,300 15,000 

Av. yield per acre, tons 9.1 10.2 13.9 11.4 13.7 13.7 11.3 

Av. per cent, sugar in cossettes 14. 14.2 13.9 14.1 11.56 15.5 12.53 

The New Union Sugar Company is under the same management as the Alameda 
Company. Its new mill of 500 tons' capacity, and capable of being doubled and tripled, 
is located on a fine tract of land in the northern part of Santa Barbara county, four miles 
south of the line between San Luis Obispo county and six miles from the Pacific ocean. 
It is situated by a lake 11 miles in circumference, and within a radius of 50 miles are 
130,000 acres adapted to the crop, traversed by two railways. There is an unlimited sup- 
ply of water for iirigating purposes. The Union mill is contracting for 8000 acres of beets 
at $4 for '99. Secretary CofRn writes us in January, '99: "Since August, 
we have been plowing 50 acres per day with our steam plow tackle, similar 
to that used by Mr. Lilienthal. We plow from 12 to 15 inches deep. There 
are about 4000 acres of our own that will thus be plowed. The tract is being plowed and 
ditched by accurate survey in accordance with an irrigation system which covers the 
entire tract." 

ELEVEN YEARS OF THE WATSONVILLE FACTORY. 

A picture of the beet sugar mill at Watsonville, California, is given on Page 170, 
together with its record for the ten years 1888 to '97 inclusive, as originally compiled by 
the author. Last year (1898) was the worst season known in the state for 40 years, owing 
to drouth, which caused an unfavorable sugar campaign. Hauling beets to the Watson- 
ville mill began August 5, closed November 5, '98, with a total of 57,761 tons of beets 
delivered from 7200 acres, at $4 per ton. Under the ideal conditions of 1896, the 25,000 
acres contracted for 1898 should have yielded 350,000 tons. 

The table (Page 170) shows a steady development and affords the best data extant 
for judging of the ups and downs of this industry, from both the farmers' and manufac- 
turers' standpoint. It will be noted that during these 10 years the yield of beets on 
nearly 60,000 acres has averaged 11 tons per acre, including good, bad and indifferent sea- 
sons. The farmers have received from $4 to ?5 per ton, or an average of about $4.50. 
This has amounted to from $27 to $68 per acre, averaging $50 per acre. 

The cost of production and delivery of beets to the factory has varied in that 
vicinity from $20 to $35 per acre, including the labor of the farmer himself or his family 
and teams, as well as his hired help, all at current prices. It will be seen that while the 
crop afforded comparatively small profits the first season, once the culture of the 
crop was fully understood and the industry well established, it proved to be the most 
profitable staple crop the farmer could raise. This one mill has paid $3,000,000 for this 
new crop and as high as $700,000 in a single year. But for the establishment of the fac- 
tory in that vicinity this vast sum would not have been paid to these farmers, but would 
have gone out of the country to pay for imported sugar. 

It required 7 to 12 tons of beets to make one ton of sugar, and the greatest varia- 
tion was in two succeeding years. This shows the wide fluctuation in quality of beets, 
dues to climatic conditions. The average of 8.9 tons of beets to make one ton of raw 
sugar, or of 9.8 tons to make one ton of refined sugar, is decidedly better than the best fac- 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



175 



tories in Germany can show during the same eight years. It will be noted that the quan- 
tity of raw sugar produced per acre varied from about 1500 to a little over 3500 lbs during 
the eight years, averaging 2700 lbs, with some decrease in the amount of refined sugar. 
This is just about half the production per acre from cane on Hawaii. It is interesting to 
observe also that the price of sugar fell 40 per cent, during these 10 years and is to-day 
lower than ever. 

Many other facts of interest are shown by the table. The run of 220 days by the 
factory on the 1894 crop was the longest campaign ever made by any beet sugar mill in 
the world, but the actual hours run in the '96 campaign of 170 days were almost as 
many, when the factory sliced an average of nearly 1100 tons of beets per day of 24 hours, 
from which 136 tons of sugar were made daily. 

Regarding the season of 1898, P. W. Morse, the agricultural superintendent, writes: 
"The drouth was severe on the farmers, yet taught a needed lesson in compelling 
attention to the necessity of irrigation in our valleys that have a semi-arid climate. The 
drouth also forced an unwelcome fallow upon the lands of many farmers, which, how- 



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SKETCH OF THE UNION SUGAR WORKS 

No* being completed for the 1899 campaign, with a capacity of 1000 tons of beets per day. Main 
building 240x110 feet, of brick and steel. Located in northern part of Santa Barbara county, California, 
six miles from the ocean. 



ever, is not an unmixed evil, as among other minor benefits farmers will be partly com- 
pensated by an increased yield next year. For 1899 we shall pay $4.50 per ton of 2000 lbs 
for beets. With sufficient rainfall this winter, we shall have between 40,000 and 45,000 
acres planted. Under favorable circumstances this should insure full campaigns for both 
the Salinas and Watsonville factories, which are under the same management." 

SUCCESS OF THE ESTABLISHED FACTORIES. 

The Chino Valley Beet Sugar Company's factory at Chino, in San Bernadino 
county, has had two good seasons and one poor one since the exhibit on Page 48 was made 
up of its first five campaigns. In 1896, it worked up about 66,000 tons of beets, the crop 
being reduced by drouth. Its campaign of 1897 was almost ideal, the factory running 151 
»iays op. 07.197 net tons of beets that contained an average of 15.1 per cent, sugar and 



176 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

yielded 24,303,000 lbs. of standard granulated. There were harvested for the mill 9678 
acres, out of 10,000 contracted. The gross weight of beets delivered by farmers on the 
Chino ranch to the Chino factory from July 15 to Dec. 20, '97, was 53,624 tons, and the 
net weight for which they were paid was 50,639 tons. The difference of nearly 3000 tons, 
or 5.47 per cent., represents the tare, or reduction for weight of dirt on beets, poorly 
topped beets, etc., as determined by the tare-man appointed by the beet growers' union. 
These beets averaged 14.9 per cent, sugar and 78.5 purity. The net price received by the 
farmers averaged $4.23 per net ton, or a total of $210,862. Nearly as much more was paid 
for some 50,000 tons additional received at the factory from other localities. The bulk of 
the beets was delivered in September, October and November. 

In 1898, the unprecedented drouth caused the results of the previous campaign to 
be just about cut in two. The output of sugar was 12,063,782 lbs. A total of 47,302 tons 
of beets was consumed, and the percentage of sugar was approximately 13 per cent. The 
farmers received $192,272 for their beets, for which they were paid a fraction over $4 per 
ton. For 1899, the Chino factory is contracting for 12,000 acres and hopes to get 150,00') 
tons of beets. Arrangements for irrigation have been made by many growers, so as to 
be independent of drouths. 

The Los Alamitos Sugar Company has completed its mill, an imperfect sectional 
view of which, to explain the process of manufacture, is given on Page 37, and a pre- 
liminary notice on Page 50. For its first campaign of 1897, 2800 acres of beets were har- 
vested, that yielded 29,542 tons, containing an average of 15.73 per cent, of sugar in the 
beet, and making a total product of a little over 6,000,000 lbs. The machinery was in 
operation 105 days, and the farmers were paid an average of $4.16 per ton. Some of the 
beets ran as high as 20 per cent., and the average of nearly 16 is, we believe, one of the 
highest yet reported for any campaign. The soil in that vicinity is remarkably adapted 
to the crop, but, like the rest of the state, suffered severely from the unprecedented 
drouth of '98. For its second campaign, 1898, the Los Alamitos Sugar Company reports: 
"On account of the severe drouth we did not plant more than 1400 acres. Of this amount 
we got a stand of about 300 acres, from which we received 3000 tons of beets, which pro- 
duced 6000 bags of sugar. Under usual normal conditions, we should have planted 7000 
acres, and from this we should have received about 70,000 tons of beets, which would 
produce about 14,000,000 lbs of sugar, so you can see that this year's campaign was quite 
disastrous to the company. We have made contracts for 1899 to have 8000 acres planted; 
up to the present time (Dec. 6) have not had any rain, but there is plenty of time yet, 
and if it comes this month or in January we are sure to get a good crop." We believe 
the richest crop of beets on record was worked up at this mill. It was grown in Orange 
county, and averaged 27 per cent, sugar of 88 purity! 

The Crockett Sugar Refining Company, with a capital of $2,000,000, has an enor- 
mous plant at Crockett, on San Francisco bay, with a capacity of 350 tons of cane and 1000 
tons of beets per day. It was started to refine Hawaiian sugar, and during the interim 
to manufacture beet sugar. It is contracting for 10,000 acres of beets per year and is cul- 
tivating 1600 acres of beet land itself near the factory. It pays $4 per ton for beets test- 
ing 15 per cent, sugar, with 25c extra for each additional per cent, of sugar. It draws its 
supply of beets mainly from Contra Costa, Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties. It is in 
charge of experienced sugar people and there is every reason to expect its permanent 
success. 

THE LATEST MODERN ENTERPRISE. 

What is said to be the model beet sugar factory of the world is the new plant of the 
Pacific Sugar Company at the new town of Oxnard, near Hueneme, Ventura county, Gali- 



178 THE SUGfAR INDUSTRY. 

fornia, some 3^ miles from the ocean. The illustrations on Pages II, III, VI, VII, also 
on Pages 1-17, 152 and 157, with their accompanying descriptions, convey a perfect 
idea of this beautiful establishment — the latest triumph of American experience and 
genius, and embodying all that the Oxnards and their experts have learned — or invented. 
Its boiler house, 195x55 ft, contains fourteen 250 h p boilers (3500 h p in all), capable of 
■working under 200 lb steam pressure. The boilers and lime kilns are fired with crude oil 
brought from a pipe from the wells 35 miles distant, and standing in two tanks, each 85ft 
in diameter, 30 ft high and with a capacity of 30,000 bbls each. Three large pumps are 
required to force water into storage tanks on top of building. The supply, 10,000,000 gal- 
lons daily, comes from flowing driven wells nearby, and the waste water runs into the 
ocean through a canal 6 to 8 ft wide and 4 to 6 ft deep. The beets are received at the fac- 
tory on the elevated driveway of the beet sheds, 300x100 ft, and the wagons dumped (by 
electrically operated hoisting engines) into storage bins having a combined capacity of 
5000 tons, from which the beets are floated, as used, by a stream of water running in a 
concrete conduit to the factory proper. The refrigerating plant makes 200 tons of ice 
daily. Twenty-eight pumps of large size are used to cii'culate the various juices about 
the factory. The plant occupies 100 acres. It will consume 1000 tons of beets daily in 
'.99, and 10,000 acres have already been contracted for, but by 1900 the full capacity of 2000 
tons daily will be reached. Over 20,000 acres will be needed to furnish the necessary sup- 
ply of beets, say 250,000 tons, and at an average of $4 per ton a million dollars will be 
paid out by this mill alone for this new crop annually. The town of Oxnard, close at hand, 
bids fair to become a model city with every modern improvement. 

All this section can be irrigated from the underground water shed, 130 to 250 ft 
below the surface, which is inexhaustible, being fed by the Sierra water shed and kept in 
by the ocean. Says Chief Engineer Bauer: 

"A three-inch well can be sunk for a trifle, comparatively speaking. A hundred dol- 
lars will cover the cost, and its flow will irrigate many acres of this fine, moist soil. The 
farmers will be independent of rains then. The beet will hunt for water a long way down. 
Why, in Paris I saw a beet whose fine, silky tendrils had gone down 23 feet." 

TIIK CULTURE OF BEETS FOR THE SPEECKELS FACTORY 

has been for years under the general charge of Mr. P. W. Morse, the agricultural superin- 
tendent. He prepared a very complete statement of the methods in vogue about Watson- 
ville, from which we quote below. After emphasizing proper selection of soils and drain- 
age from an excess of water in winter, Mr. Morse says: 

"Fertilization — This is very little practiced in this valley. There is no pressing need 
for it just now, and land owners seem to prefer to utilize the resources now existing in 
their soil. Of course no land is inexhaustible, but soil that produces 20 tons of beets to 
the acre needs no fertilizer at present; and so long as the average yield of beets continues 
to increase, it is improbable that fertilizers will be used. I am pleased to observe that 
most of our farmers refuse to sell their beet tops, and thus save a great waste of valuable 
fertilizing material. Many of our farmers help to keep up the quality of their land by 
adopting systems of rotation. 

"Rotation — And there is no doubt that, with a proper system of rotation and careful 
farming, the need of fertilization will not be apparent for many years. The beet appears 
to thrive better after certain plants than others. Here, beets yield most following pota- 
toes and least following grain or hay. In those portions of the valley in which potatoes 
are not grown, corn, beans and alfalfa are the best crops to precede beets. The rotation 
giving best results here is : First j^ear, potatoes, corn, beans or alfalfa; second year, 
beets; third year, barley; and is adopted by many farmers. It would be well if all farm- 



THE BEET SUGAK INDUSTRY. 



179 



ers would adopt some such system. To an eastern agriculturist such a rotation may appear 
to be a terrific strain upon land that is not fertilized, but so far the land snows no sign o£ 
deterioration. 

"Plowing — In plowing' and preparation of the soil for beets our farmers usually 
plow but once, and complete the preparation of the soil by woricing from the surface, 
without turning the soil over again. The reason for this is that, if land is re-plowed late, 
we may not get sufficient grain to work the surface fine enough for a seed bed for the 
beet seed. In late plowing there is also the chance of losing moisture that may not be 
regained, for, after March and even February, our spring rains cannot be relied upon 
However; on badl> drained land, or land foul with weeds, two plowings may be neces- 
sary. The plowing is deep, from 10 to 12 inches, and is performed by single or two-gang 
sulkies, drawn by four to six horses. Sub-soiling is not practiced, for, when the top 12 




LARGEST BEET SUGAR FACTORY IN THE ^^^ORLD. 

Near view of main building of new beet sugar mill at Spreckels, in the Salinas valley, Monterey 
Co., Cal., built by the Spreckels Sugar Co., Claus Spreckels president. This structure is 582x102 feet, five 
stories high, contains 3500 tons of steel and 4.000,000 brick, and with the accompanying buildings, 
machinery, etc., represents a cost of $2,500,000. The boiler house is 559x68 feet, 22 feet high, contains 24 
enormous boilers and four economizers, and its steel smokestacks are 2i6*f eet high, 13 feet in diameter 
and each weighs 1000 tons. The machine shop and carpenter shop is 559x40 feet, 22 feet high ; oil house 
20x32, warehouse*80x200, scale house 21x32, office 70x70. A reservoir for water holds 1,300,000 gallons, be- 
ing 22 feet deep and 200x60 feet. There are also enormous silos for pulp, beet sheds, etc., the whole 
plant covering some 500 acres. A distant view of the factory, giving also an idea of the surrounding 
country, appears on Page 170, and on Page 181 is a different view showing boiler sheds, etc. 



inches is plowed, the soil below is generally too wet to work, and sub-soiling would then 
do more harm than good. The cultivators used, 1 am glad to say, are all made by our local 
shops and are exceedingly well suited to the work. A couple of deep cultivatings, with 
a few harrowings and a rolling or dragging, are usually sufficient to complete the prepa- 
ration of the soil. Our farmers have grown proficient in working the soil for beets, and 



180 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

the percentage of failures on account of poor farming in this respect has been reduced 
to nothing. In former years it was formidable 

"Sowing is done entirely with drills, sowing rows about 20 inches apart, seed being 
furnished by the beet factory, and in the performance of this somewhat delicate operation 
our farmers need no pointers from anybody, save in the matter of straight rows. Not 
enough attention is paid to drilling straight rows. It is rather surprising that our farm- 
ers, who are so straight in all other dealings, should be so crooked with their beet rows. 
A great help in late sowings, say after the middle of May, is the addition of V-shaped 
irons to the drill, which push aside the dry surface of the soil and enable the seed to be 
sown in moisture at a moderate depth. About ten pounds of seed are sown to the acre. 

"Thinning and Hoeing are usually contracted together with topping and loading 
into the wagon at $1 per ton. There is a growing disposition on the part of farmers to 
hire labor by the day and look after the field work personally. In this way many farm- 
ers work their beets for as low as 70c per ton, and in one instance last year it was done 
lor 55c per ton. The work was done better, and resulted in higher yield and increased 
profit to the farmer. The contract system is a makeshift, which worked well when labor 
was scarce, but should now be discarded, as labor is abundant and there is no good reason 
for retaining it. 

"Spacing and thinning beets are important operations and should be done under 
the eye of the farmer. Our beets are spaced from eight to 12 inches apart, according to 
quality of land, and should be all thinned before they are four inches high. Cultivating 
and weed cutting between the rows by horse power has greatly increased of late years, 
and saves an immensity of labor. Weed cutters are made to take two or four rows at a 
time, and are drawn by one or two horses. I noticed one four-row weed cutter last sum- 
mer that worked twelve acres per day. These implements are made by the farmers them- 
selves, and work well when the drill rows are straight. The rule for cultivating between 
rows in summer is to go as shallow as possible. Some few farmers practice hilling the 
soil against the beets, but I have never observed any benefit to come from it. After the 
leaves cover the ground all work on the field should cease until the beets are ripe. 

"Harvesting— The farmer does not have to bother his head about the ripeness of his 
crop — the factory settles this point for him and orders the beets to be delivered as it may 
require them. After the beets are ordered in, comes the plowing out. The plow used for 
this purpose has two shares, which straddle the row to be plowed out. It is usually drawn 
by two horses, and gives the soil and beets between the shares a slight lift, sufficient to 
loosen the beets, which then remain standing in the soil, ready for the laborers to pull 
them out by the leaves. The beet plow must be strongly made and firmly braced. The 
top must be wide enough to allow the beet leaves to pass through without catching. If 
any dead beet leaves are lying on the ground, it is advisable to fix two rolling cutters in 
front of the plow, setting them so as to cut the ground to a depth of a couple of inches. 
The plowing will then be smoother and will be easier on both horses and men. Beet 
plowing is not well done unless every beet in the row is loosened without mutilation. 
It is in plowing out that the advantage of straight rows is particularly noticeable, as it 
is far easier to plow out a straight row than a crooked one. It is false economy to buy 
or keep an imperfect plow. Our local blacksmiths make splendid plows, and, if you tell 
them what you want, they will furnish an implement that will do perfect work. I have 
often seen farm hands breaking off the roots of beets with imperfect plows or careless 
plowing, and leaving two or three tons of such broken roots to the acre in the ground. 
The parts of roots left in the ground are an absolute loss to the farmer, and if harvested 
would pay for a new plow many times over in a season. 

"Topping of the beet should be done with one stroke of a knife. Here 12-inck 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



181 



butcher knives are used for the purpose. The crown and leaves, together with any por- 
tion of the beet growing above ground, should be cut off, leaving nothing but the root 
that has grown under ground to be taken to the factory. The old method of pulling and 
topping was to throw the beets into piles, top them and load into wagons with baskets. 
The newer and better way is to lay the beets in rows with heads one way. The topper 
then, after slicing off the heads, places the topped beets head down in rows, and with the 
tails in the air. They are then thrown into wagons by hand. It is a curious sight to see 
a field of beets thus standing in long rows in the reverse direction to which they grow. 
The advantages of the new method are that the beets are topped quicker, dry better in 
wet weather, are more easily loaded into wagons, and save the expense of baskets. The 
tops are also better distributed over the ground. 

"Balding beets has evolved a new form of wagon rack in this valley. It is in the 
shape of a wide, shallow box, raised high above the wheels, which it overhangs a few 
inches. It is not a thing of beauty, but it answers better than the old style of rack in that 
it is easier to load and unload, and a heavier load can be hauled with it. Such racks 
mounted on wide-tired gears weigh about 3200 pounds, and from 4 to iVz tons can be 
hauled in them with four horses on a good road in dry weather. They are unsuitable for 
bad roads, as they are top heavy and liable to turn over. Good roads are indispensable 
to the beet farmer. No traffic is harder on roads, and this is due to the immense volume 
of it and to the heavy loads hauled." 




DISTANT YIKW OF THE MAMMOUTH SUGAR MILL. 

Of the Spreckels Sugar Co., at Rpreckels, in tlie Salinas valley, California, showing steel frame 
of main structure 582x102 feet, with boiler house 559x68 feet in foreground. See Pages 170 and 179 for 
other engravings and descriptions of tliis largest beet sugar factory in the world. 




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KLEIN WANZLEBENER. KNACER MANGOLD. 

SOME TYPICAL OREGON SUGAR BEETS. 
Containing 16 to 20 per cent, sugar, of 82 to 88 purity. 



CHAPTER IV. 
Recent Lessons in the Beet Sugae Industry. 

COST OF GROWING BEETS. 

More experience was added to the stock of information on this subject presented 
in Part Three, Chapter IV, but so few farmers keep accurate accounts that even now the 
data at hand is less than one could wish. We first give two statements prepared for this 
work and based on actual records kept by men who farm on business principles: 

CALIFORNIA, SAN BENITO COUNTY — BY THOMAS FLINT, JR. 

Until 1897 I had no personal experience in cultivating beets for sugar, all of my 
beet land, about 1200 acres, being leased to tenants. But in '97 I planted 16 acres to beets, 
and the course pursued was as follows: The land was plowed twice to a depth of 14 
inches, cultivated and harrowed until thoroughly pulverized, and the seed sowed by drill 
in rows 20 inches apart. When the beets had grown to have two or three leaves, they 
were thinned in the rows to about eight inches apart. All weeds were, of course, 
destroyed during the sea.son by means of cultivators and hoes. In September the beets were 
plowed out, topped and shipped. I was paid for 457,583 lbs. of dressed beets, at $4.50 per 
ton, $915.16, or $57.19 per acre gross. This was an average yield of 14.3 tons per acre, 

(183) 



184 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

making a net profit of a little over $1.50 per ton. "Witliout charging for use of land, the 

expenses were: 

Per Acre For 16 Acres 

Plowing, harrowing, etc., at , $ 3.00 $ 48.00 

Seed at 10c 1.23 19.65 

Use of drill 10 1.60 

Sowing 15 2.40 

Cultivating 70 11.20 

Plowing out 1.00 16.00 

Thinning, topping and loading 12.87 205.90 

Freight to factory 13.83 221.37 

Total expenses $32.88 $526.12 

Net profits 24.31 389.04 

Total receipts 57.19 915.16 

CALIFORNIA, ALAMFDA COUNTY, RANCHO DEL VALLE, BY E. K. LILIENTIIAL. 

The following fairly represents the average of several years' experience, but our 
yield in '97 was an average of 18 tons, instead of 15, as noted below. We get the work done 
t>y contract at the prices stated: 

Per acre 

Plowing in the fall, once $2.00 

Plowing in the spring, twice 3.00 

Harrowing and smoothing 50 

Seed, 10 lbs. at 12c, and 5 lbs. for reseeding 1.80 

Sowing once 50 

Cultivating twice 1.00—$ 8.80 

Hoeing twice, thinning, topping and sacking (by contract at 

$1.25 per ton) for 15 tons 18.75 

Hauling 15 tons, at 25c 3.75 

Total cost, exclusive of use of land $31.30 

Net profits per acre ., 21.20 

Total received for l,'^ tons, at $3.50 $52.50 

When the yield is brought up to 18 to 23 tons per acre, and the price to $4 or $4.50 
per ton, the margin of profit is, of course, largely increased. The '97 crop averaged over 
16 per cent, sugar, which, at $3.50 per ton for 12 per cent., and 25c for each additional 
percentage, made a return of $4.50 per ton. Such a crop costs only the $8.80 per acre for 
preparatory work, as above, or a total (at contract prices) of $31.30 per acre, while at 
$4.50 per ton, the gross return is $81 per acre, and the net profit for use of land, $45.20 per 
acre. Hence we see how intensive culture more than doubles the profits per acre. Still 
better results are expected from steam plowing. See Page 189. 

ANOTHER CALIFORNIA REPORT. 

A remarkable statement is that furnished by Dethlefsen Bros., for their 1896 crop 
grown on 238 acres of rented land near San Juan, Cal. The harvest began Sept. 8, '96, 
was finished .Tan. 19, '97, and averaged 18.7 tons per acre of dressed beets. The soil was 
a deep sandy loam, on the banks of the San Benito river, not subject to overflow, and had 
been pastured for seven years previously, but no manure or fertilizer was used. The 
season was ideal, rainfall 22 inches. Ten lbs. of seed were sown to each acre, and 50 acres 
had to be resown. A handsome saving was effected by working beets by day labor, instead 
of contracting them. The thinning, topping and loading of beets into wagons cost 55c 
per ton of beets, whereas the neighbors paid $1.05 per ton of beets to contract those oper- 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



185 



ations; the Dethlefsens here made a gain of ?2,225.50. It should be stated that the profits 

to the Dethlefsens were greater than shown by the statement, as all of their own work 
is charged for at full rates of wages. This statement shows whit can be done with every- 
thing most favorable: expenses of the crop. 

Total cost Cost Cost 

238 acres per acre, per toa. 

Rent of 238 acres at $7 per acre $ 1.666.00 $ 7.00 $ .37 

First plowing (Nov. ) 340.00 

Second plowing (Feb.-March) 396.65 

Cultivating and harrowing 500.00 5.19 .28 

Sowing— labor (May l-June 3) 85.00 

—Use of drill 28.80 .49 .03 

Seed— 2830 lbs. at 10c 283.00 1.19 .06 

Thinning— 1100 days, at $1 100.00 4.62 .25 

Cultivating and weed cutting — one man and two 

horses, 30 days, at $3 90.00 .38 .02 

Plowing out — one man and team, 95 days, at $3 285.00 1.19 .06 

Topping and loading into wagons— 1,335.3 days, at $1. 1,335.30 5.61 .30 

Hauling 3 miles to switch at 50c per ton 2,225.50 9.35 .50 

Freight on railroad to factory 2,225.50 9.35 .50 

Cost of knives and hoes 20.00 .09 

Interest 300.00 1.26 .07 

Total expenses $10,880.75 $45.72 $2.44 

Income: 

4,451 tons of beets, at $4 $17,817.22 $74.86 $4.00 

Sale of beet tops 200.00 .84 .04 

Total income $18,017.32 $75.70 $4.04 

Net profit $7,136.47 $29.98 $1.60 




IMPROVED FOUR-ROW BEET CULTIVATOR, PLANET JR. 



X86 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY, 




TWO BATTERIES OF QUADRUPLE-EFFECT EVAPORATORS. 

At Pacific beet sugar factory, Oxnard, Cal. Each evaporator is 12 feet in diameter and 22 feet 
from floor to bottom of elbow, wliere the vapor pipes join, and these are 44 inches in diameten 
One vacuum pan in extreme background. 



IN MOUNTAIN AND PRAIKIE STATES. 

Utah. — Statement of actual expenses on a crop raised for the Lehi factory by Mr. 
Granger, its superintendent, at $2.50 to $3 per day for man and team; men $1.25 to $1.50, 
boys 50c to $1 per day. 

Mr. Granger says: "The very conservative estimate of only 13 tons per acre is used 
here merely to show what size croi) can be made to pay well. By figuring on a yield of 
from 18 to 25 tons per acre — which is not at all extravagant — the possibilities of the crop 
may easily be recognized. A great number of farmers who raise beets for the Utah Sugar 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 187 

Company make a net profit of from $30 to $50 per acre, after allowing themselves and 
family full wages for all work done on the crop." Mr. Granger's figures follow: 

Fall plowing, 12 inches deep $ 2.75 

Pulverizing in spring 1.00 

Rolling 25c. planting 35c 60 

Fifteen pounds of seed, at 18c 2.70 

Rolling previous to thinning 25 

Cultivating previous to thinning 50 

Thinning 4.50 

Hoeing after thinning 2.00 

Furrowing out for irrigation twice, at 25c 50 

Irrigating twice, at 40c 80 

Cultivating after irrigation twice, at 50c 1.00 

Plowing beets out at harvest time 1.50 

Pulling beets after plow 2.00 

Topping 13 tons, at 35c 4.55 

Sacking and hauling 13 tons (3 miles), at 65c 8.45 



Total expenses $33.10 

Yield, 13 tons, at $4 (this price paid at Lehi) 52.00 



Net profit per acre $18.90 

Iowa.— Saylor's report gives the account of H. C. Graves & Son, who raised 41iy4 
acres of beets at Council Bluffs, and shipped to the factory at Norfolk, Neb. They figure a 
shrinkage in weight in transit of 5.2 per cent., equal to $171.82, and paid in freight $896.71. 
These two items, amounting to $1,068.53, would have been saved if they could have deliv- 
ered to a factory direct from the field. The crop averaged 15% tons per acre, average 
tare 8.83 per cent., average sugar content 14.4. At $5 a ton the actual profit was $31.98 
per acre, or if for nearby delivery, $57.33 per acre, but at |4 per ton, $15.75 should be 
deducted from either profit. 

Total Cost 

cost per acre 

Preparing 41% acres $ 81.00 $1.95 

Bunching and thinning plants 153.10 3.69 

Replanting by hand 32.60 .78 

Hoeing four times 102.70 2.50 

Cultivating weekly for six weeks 137.85 3.30 

Digging 84.10 2.05 

Pulling and topping by hand 283.75 6.83 

Hauling to cars 285.95 6.89 

Seed 100.20 2.41 

Machinery 38.75 .93 



Total $1,300.00 $31.33 

Freight to Norfolk on 717.37 tons, at $1.25 896.71 21.60 



Total cost of crop laid down at factory $2,196.71 $52.93 

$5 per ton for 654.1 net tons 3,270.50 78.80 

Allowance received and for tops for cattle feed 229.67 5.53 

Rebate to us on shrinkage in shipment 24.00 .59 



Total receipts $3,524.17 $84.92 

Total expenses 2,196.71 52.93 

Net profit for use of land |1,327.46 |3L9i 



188 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

Herman Swatcher of Norfolk has grown beets every year since 1890, at a cost per 
acre varying from $28.60 to $31, and getting a yield of from 6 to 17 tons per acre. His 
profits per acre have ranged from $11.40 up to $37, except that on the '94 short crop there 
was a loss of $4 per acre. His '97 crop averaged 10 tons per acre, at a cost of $2.86 per 
ton, delivered at the factory, yielding a profit of $1.14 per ton, compared to from $1.53 
to $2.18 in previous seasons. Nebraska experience is that, as a fair average for a series 
of years, beets at $4 a ton will pay all expenses of production, including use of land, taxes, 
etc., and a net profit over and above everything of fully a dollar a ton, or $10 to $15 an 
acre. 

IX THE EAST. 

New York — N. D. Lapham made a special study of methods and results of sugar 
beet culture in Wayne county, western New York, in 1898. A large number of farmers 
reported to him who had shipped their crop to the factory at Rome, N. Y. Their yields 
of dressed beets averaged 18 tons per acre, or from IG and 17 tons in "flat" land and upland 
to over 21 tons on sandy loam. These beets mostly contained 14 to 17 per cent, sugar, all 
of over 80 purity, and netted $5 per ton at factory, including $1 state bounty. Mr. Lapham 
made an effort to ascertain the cost of growing beets, based on $3 per day for man and 
team, $2 for man and horse, and $1.25 for man. William Facer's figures ran up to $76.25 
per acre for a crop that yielded 44,620 lbs. and sold for $111.24, making a net profit of $35 
per acre. H. G. Hotchkiss had 13 acres raised on shares, kept a strict account, and found 
that the total cost was $503.75, or an average of $38.75. Allowing 35c per ton freight and 
deducting the total expenses from $85.38, the income derived per acre, for the crop of 17 
tons, and there is a net gain of $46 per acre. At 15 tons, the net gain would have been 
$35.90, and at 12 tons $20.00. In all cases the tops and crowns are left on the farm for 
fodder. Mr. Lapham figured that corn yielding 80 bu per acre (worth at present 20c per 
bu. and stalks $5), would net less than $5 profit per acre, while the average potato crop 
pays less than $20 per acre profit. The average of over 18 tons of beets per acre gives a 
surplus in favor of the beet over potatoes of over $33 per acre. 

Mr. Lapham concluded: 'I wish to emphatically state that without one excep- 
tion the Wayne county producer informs me that, considering prices of farm produce as 
they have been for many years, also taking into consideration the comparative labor 
necessary, there is nothing so profitable as the sugar beet for our farmers to raise." Mr. 
Facer's estimates, on the above basis, follow: 

Drawing manure and fitting land $ 7.00 

Sowing seed 50 

First hoeing 5.00 

Second hoeing 6.00 

Third hoeing 5.00 

Cultivating six times 6.00 

Pulling and topping , 15.00 

Drawing to market 5 miles, 16 loads 24.00 

Cost of shipping 7.75 

Net for manure, use of laud and profit $76.25 

Received for 22.3 tons per acre, at $5 per ton $111.24 

STEAM PLOWING FOR THE SUGAR CEET. 

Steam plows have been in limited use for many years. Under certain conditions 
they do excellent work and are economical. One steam plow company guarantees its six- 
gaug plo\\ and lb horse-power engine to turn over as much ground as six three-horse 
teams, provided the soil is firm enough to carry the engine, is free from stumps and 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY 



isy 



rocks, not too wet and has no grades or hill of more than one foot rise in 10 feet of 
distance; and good fuel and water are provided. 

In the United States the level prairies of the west offer the best field for the use of 
steam on the farm, particularly those sections where most of the farm work is during the 
dry season, as in California, New Mexico and parts of Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and 
Arizona, There the ground is sufficiently firm and dry to support an engine, and is also 
level and free from obstructions. On large wheat ranches steam plowing is popular, pro- 
vided fuel is not too expensive and water is near at hand. 




Steam plowed, 16 inches deep. Team plowed, eight inches deep. 

EFFECT OF DEEP PLOWING ON BEETS. 

The beets are f.iir sampLs of the I wo crops. The deep-plowed land yielded 1/4 to % more weight 
per acre, and the larger beets were ric'ner in sugar, contrary to the usual rule. 



The picture on Page 93 represents a steam plowing scene near Pleasanton , Ala- 
meda county, California. At each end of the field an engine is placed and the carriage to 
which the plow is attached is drawn back and forth by means of a wire cable 3000 feet 
long. Two engines of 12 horse-power each are required to do the work here. The plow 
is a four-gang reversible balance plow. This plan has several advantages. Softer or 



190 



THE SUQAR INDUSTRY. 



looser ground can be plowed, as the engines do not move across the field while at work. 
Another method of plowing with a stationary traction engine is to run the cable entirely 
around the field, letting it turn the corners on strongly staked pulleys. A two-wheeled 
set of gangs is used and fastened onto the cable at any desired point. The engine may 
now stand still and draw the plow back and forth across the field by simply winding the 
cable upon the reversible drum attached to the underside of the boiler. The illustration 
of the Mexican plow herewith shows an engine coupled directly to the plows. 
Where conditions are favorable this method is used very satisfactorily. The two-engine 
system is used quite extensively in the Hawaiian Islands, there being thirty-three sets 
in use there now, each one of which will turn over about ten acres a day with a four-fur- 
row plow. 

Mr. E K. Lilienthal, who has made a careful test of plowing at various depths 
and with teams and steam engines at the California farm alluded to, writes us in the 
highest terms of steam plowing for beets. It enabled him to plow to a depth of 16 inches, 
and the beets on such land were 25 to 33 1-3 per cent heavier than on soil plowed by 




DIRECT CONNECTION OF STEAM ENGINE TO PLOW 



teams. The importance of deep plowing is obvious, and he has yet to find an implement 
that equals the steam tackle illustrated on Page 93. Under this system, beets that 
weighed four pounds each ran high in sugar and were acceptable at the factory. 

Mr. Lilienthal adds: "I have plowed over 500 acres this fall with this steam tackle, 
and could go 18 or 20 inches deep as well as 16, if it were advisable. In former years I 
endeavored to fall-plow with horses, getting uneven results, but have always been con- 
vinced of the necessity of steam plowing, and after seven years' experience with it, I am 
for it every time. The land is treated in the spring exactly as though it had been horse- 
plowed in the fall, but the rows are placed 16 inches apart on this steam-plowed land, 
instead of 20 as by the old method. We use 12 lbs of seed only, as we are not obliged to 
reseed. since the deep cultivation holds the moisture and insures sprouting of seed. Under 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 191 

these improved methods and with an ordinary amount of rainfall, we expect over 20 tons 
per acre on each and every acre seeded. Our experience in the unprecedentedly dry 
season of '98 shows that this is a very conservative estimate for deep plowing and thor- 
ough cultivation." 

Of course many soils are of such a nature that too deep plowing, or turning up 
of the subsoil, does more harm than good. In such cases, subsoiling beneath the surface 
plowing will accomplish the desired result. 

A CAUTION TO THE INEXPERIENCED FARMER. 

He is the one who usually thinks he knows most about raising sugar beets. If he 
is a westerner, he starts out to raise 100 or 200 acres of beets before he has learned how 
to grow one acre. The result is failure and disgust. We find that the man who has had 
the most experience in growing beets is the one who takes the fewest risks, who realizes 
how much even he has to learn, who does everything thoroughly and who is usually 
well satisfied with the result. Charles F. Saylor, who made a special inquiry on this 
point for the United States department of agriculture, truly says in his report (Page 178, 
document 396, H. R., 55th Congress, 2d session): 

"We found, as a rule, that the farmers who were raising sugar beets for the first 
time were going more upon their own experience and knowledge of growing field crops 
than they were upon the directions given them by the department and experiment sta- 
tions. They seemed to think that these directions were superfluous, calling for work that 
was difficult, and requiring the planting and the cultivation of the beets in a manner 
that was totally foreign to their experience and therefore wrong. They failed to appre- 
ciate the fact that they were dealing with a new feature in farming, or one which they 
had hitherto neglected, and in modifying the directions they were violating some funda- 
mental principles on which the success of the sugar beet for factory purposes depends. 
They seemed to look upon the experiment of growing the sugar beet as a thing in which 
there was no remuneration, and therefore a thing on which they could not afford to 
waste much time. In considering these experiments in growing sugar beets, the general 
public may get an indication of the first great dilficulty the industry in this country is 
to meet and master, and that is the education of the farmer to the necessities of the cul- 
tivation required." 

IRRIGATING THE SUGAR REET. 

This subject is so new, and to many sections so important, that to the facts stated on 
Page 96, the following summary should be added of Mr. Saylor's inquiry for the United 
States department of agriculture (1898) : 

"Experience has demonstrated that irrigation should be held off as long as possible 
and applied as little as possible. Water should not be applied by irrigation until the nat- 
ural supply has failed, and even then the grower must be careful not to apply too much. 
Too much is as disastrous as not enough. We have learned by talking with those experi- 
enced in the application of water by irrigation of the tendency of the land to dry out 
quickly after being irrigated, and of the ground to become packed, so that cultivation 
must follow as soon as practicable after irrigation. 

"It has been noticed that the beet has a tendency to send down its taproot deep into 
the soil, and especially is this true in the earlier stages, if the necessities of the case 
demand it in order to procure moisture, and this is to be desired. If water is applied too 
lavishly in the beginning, this tendency of the beet is arrested, and it shows a disposi- 
tion to rely on an artificial supply of water rather than seek its own, and we have thus 
interfered with a natural tendency that is desirable in the growth and maturity of the 
beet. The effect will be, under these circumstances, that the taproot will divide and the 
beet will become bunchy and sprangle out, assuming a form entirely undesirable. 

"The beet may show a tendency to slightly droop its leaves and to become lighter 
in color, but this does not indicate that irrigation is needed. If the beet recovers its vigor 
in the evening, it is a sufllcient indication that it is getting along all right. When it comes 
to suffer from drouth, the tendency will be to droop and get darker in color, and it will 



192 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

not apparently recover vigor with the approach of the cool of evening. This is the time 
to consider the question of applying irrigation. 

"We have noticed two methods of irrigating beets, either of which seems to accom- 
plish the work successfully. One of them is to plant the beets in rows, say, from 18 to 
20 inches apart, and then when it is desirable to turn on the water, a small furrow is run 
between every other row by the use of an implement made for this purpose. The water 
is then turned on and allowed to trickle down these furrows. This causes the water to 
pass down on one side of every row in the field, and leaves the space between every other 
row that is not so furrowed. When it becomes necessary to apply water again, a furrow is 
made between the rows not furrowed before, the former furrow having been leveled up 
by cultivation. 

"The second plan is to plant the first two rows the usual width apart, say, from 
14 to 20 inches, and then the next space between the other two rows will be considerably 
wider, say, up to 26 inches apart. This wider space is entirely for the purpose of having 
an irrigating furrow, which is made in a similar maner to the one described above, the 
wider space occurring between every couplet of rows. In either case, water can be held 
in these furrows by throwing a shovelful or two of dirt into the furrow in front of the 
water until the ground becomes thoroughly saturated around the beets, and then the 
obstruction is removed, and continued down the furrow. Of course the supply furrows are 
conducted along the higher places and the cross furrows arranged in such a way that all 
parts of the field are reached. This simply suggests that the grower, in the application 
of water by irrigation, must thoroughly understand the science of economically distrib- 
uting the water in the field, which is a question too broad to be entered into here, but by 
experience the farmer becomes more or less adept. 

"In regions where the beets are started in the spring with moisture from rainfall, 
it is the aim of the grower to produce his crop with four or five irrigations of the beets. 
After they begin to ripen, all irrigation must cease, for the same reason that it is not 
desirable to have a rainfall after the beets are ripe." 

MOKE ABOUT BEET PULP. 

American farmers are slowly but surely learning to appreciate the great value of 
beet pulp for stock feeding. Two years have added much to the stock of experience cited 
on Pages 108-112. Mr. Saylor found by inquiring of many who had had extensive experience 
in feeding pulp to cattle general agreement on these points: Pulp feeding aids the work 
of digestion; the same amount of feed adds more fat and flesh to the animal; an animal 
will be prepared for the market six weeks earlier, showing a wonderful economy of time 
and feed. He obtained the following detailed report from John Reimers of the Grand 
Island (Neb.) Live Stock and Commission Company, who has had long experience in 
feeding pulp on a large scale: 

"I consider it a valuable food in connection with grain and other feed, as it is a 
great digestive food and appetizer. It has some fattening qualities, but I do not depend 
on it for that purpose, but mainly to digest the other foods. 

"When I begin feeding cattle, I use for the first few days from 20 to 25 lbs. of pulp 
per head daily, with hay and a little grain or meal mixed with it. Then increase gradually 
to 40 or 50 lbs. per head. I have also tried 80 to 90 lbs. per head, but am positive that 
this is of disadvantage in fattening cattle, as they eat less grain and meal. Too much 
pulp is inclined to be loosening. Cattle can be put on full feed of grain much quicker 
with pulp, as it helps to digest this food and lessens the danger of overfeeding or get- 
ting the cattle stalled and foundered. 

"After feeding from 90 to 100 days, I would advise going back gradually to 20 and 
25 lbs. of pulp per day, and increasing the grain food, of which each feeder must judge for 
himself the amount his cattle can stand. Cattle eat as much grain per day with the lim- 
ited amount of pulp as they do without it, but this food in connection produces flesh more 
rapidly, and thereby shortens the feeding season. 

"I find it better to feed ground feed with pulp rather than whole grain, but the 
pulp is beneficial with any kind of food. I have found, when feeding pulp with the same 
amount of roughness and grain that generally is required in the west to fatten cattle, 
that I could pnt on an extra gain of from 50 to 75 lbs. per head, or I can make the same 
amount of gain as I obtain in the ordinary way of feeding in three-fourths of the time. 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



193 




READY TO UNLOAD BEETS AT FACTORY DUMP. 




HOW THE UNLOADING IS DONE. 

Showing also how a sample basket of beets is taken to be tested for sugar content. At the Los 

Alamitos sugar works. 



194 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

and consequently save considerable grain and roughness. The pulp-fed cattle will sell 
as readily as any other, as they dress and ship as well, even for export, which I myself 
have tried. 

"I consider the pulp also a great food for stock cattle, if mixed with roughness, as it 
is a wholesome food and makes young stock thrive and grow. Cattle will eat poor and dam- 
aged roughness, which they otherwise would not touch, if mixed with pulp. I have fed 
fresh pulp direct from the factory and also so-called sour pulp after it had been in silo. 
The pulp will keep in silo for years, but it will shrink some. The result is virtually the 
same in feeding either kind of pulp, and I consider them equally good, only that some- 
times it takes three or four days before all the cattle learn to eat the sour pulp, while 
they will all eat fresh pulp readily the first day." 

For milch cows, this pulp is an A 1 feed, and is prized accordingly, especially by 
dairymen in New York state. P. W. Morse, agricultural superintendent of the Spreckels 
sugar mills, wrote in January, 1S99: "The demand for beet pulp, which has already risen 
to the capacity of our Watsonville (Cal.) mill, was intensified the past year by the scar- 
city of feed, and a fancy price could have been obtained for this product, if we had takea 
advantage of the situation. This was not done, but pulp was supplied at 10c per 2000 lbs. 
F. O. B. wagons or cars at mill, and parceled out among beet raisers. The value of beet 
pulp for fodder is well appreciated here and far exceeds the nominal price we charge. 
We furnish the pulp to beet raisers in proportion to the number of acres of beets planted, 
and this privilege to buy pulp at a nominal price is sought after, and is a factor in obtain- 
ing beet contracts. We are content with the greater common interest promoted between 
mill and farmer and a constantly appreciating market for the pulp." 

In California, farmers keep pulp in cheap silos, made in or above ground. For the 
latter, a slatted structure like a corncrib is often used, which allows the water to drain 
out. The mass will thus shrink one-half in weight during six months. "Four months after 
such storing of pulp, the silo was opened, and it was found to be a compact mass, free from 
odor and without the taste of potash. Mr. White stables his cows at night, and the pulp is 
fed to them at that time — 70 lbs. to the animal — and they clean it up. They take to it 
with eagerness. Mr. White says that from the same number of cows he is making twice 
as much butter as at this time last year, when the cows were well fed on other feed. The 
increase in milk production since his cows commenced feeding on siloed pulp has also 
astonished Mr. White. When properly handled, the beet pulp will prove to be as rich 
stock feed here as it has been demonstrated to be in Europe; but it must be siloed. Age 
and fermentation improve it. Mr. White hauled his pulp about eight miles; he estimates 
that it cost him when ready for feeding (and he figured cost of hauling, loss by shrinkage, 
etc.) not to exceed $1.40 per siloed ton — and he is confident that no other feed approach- 
ing that price can equal the milk and butter showing of siloed pulp feed." 

In Utah and New Mexico, certain parties are coining fortunes by fattening vast 
flocks of sheep for market on alfalfa and beet pulp. The sheep get two lbs. of hay 
and from three to four lbs. of pulp daily. The pulp gives the best results in both cattle 
and sheep feeding in Utah after being fermented in the silos for 30 days. At Eddy, N. M., 
the sheep ate from four to eight lbs. of pulp and one lb. of hay per head daily. At Shel- 
ton. Neb., where 25,000 lambs were fed on pulp from Norfolk, they consumed three lbs. 
per head per day. Hake Bros, of Grand Island fed 20,000 lambs about four lbs. of pulp 
and 1 to IVz lbs. of corn meal per head per day mixed, besides what hay they want. The 
sheep take to the pulp readily. 

Dried beet pulp from beet sugar factories has been used to some extent as a cattle 
food by Swedish farmers and there found very satisfactory. In some cases the molasses 
which naturally accumulates at the beet sugar factory is mixed with the pulp and the 
whole is dried. Practically all the pulp made in European beet sugar mills is utilized for 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



195 







UNLOADING BEETS INTO RAILROAD FREIGHT CAR. 

A strong net is placed in the bottom of the wagon or cart, the ends of the net lapping over the two 
sides. The beets when dug are tlirown by hand into the wagon, which is then driven to the freight 
car. Here the net on the side next the car is attached to the car, as shown above at b. The two endd 
of the net and the further side of the net are fastened together and made fast at a. Here a chain is 
attached, leading over the car to where a team of horses are hitched to a whiffletree. The team starts 
up and thus dumps the whole wagon load of beets into the car. The whole job takes but a few minutes 
and saves all hand work. Indeed, the beets are not touched by hand or by hand tools after being 
thrown into the wagon from the field where they grew. 



196 THE SUGAR INDUSTKY. 

feed. The weight of the pulp is about half as much as the weight of the beets that go 
into the factory. In other words, a ton of pulp can be depended upon for every two tons 
of beets sliced, after the water is partly drained out. 

STORING BEET TOPS. 

Beet tops make excellent feed, but some growers are so situated that the best use 
they can make of them is to plow under the tops and necks. Mr. Ware, in the Hugnv Beet, 
describes the French method of siloing beet tops. It is done as soon after cutting as 
possible, not later than two weeks after. Pits about six feet deep and six feet wide and of 
any desired length are dug on a slight slant in dry soil, filled with beet tops and carefully 
tramped down. The leaf piles continue up three feet above ground and are then covered 
with 2^ feet of earth, straw not being suitable. Fermentation soon follows and the leaves 
settle or shrink about one-third. Sometimes the leaves are simply piled in the field and 
covered thickly with earth. It may require some days before the cattle will eat this beet 
leaf silage, but by adding salt, the taste is soon acquired. About as much of this silage 
is given per head daily as would be of corn silage. See also Page 110. 

THE PROrER MANNER OF TAKING SAMPLES 

from a patch of sugar beets is thus described in the Sugar Trade Journal by J. G. Hamil- 
ton of the Oxnard Company. The sugar beet matures in 4 to 4% months from the date 
of planting, but we generally commence sampling the fields about a month previous to 
thoir maturity, that we may ascertain from week to week how the beets are ripening. 
The correct way of getting a fair average of a field is to walk through the field diago- 
nally, taking up about six beets, say one beet from every tenth row. Of course this would 
depend entirely on how large the field was. If you want to select the ripest beets, always 
pull those where the leaves are yellowish in color, and never those having new leaves 
sprouting. The beet having green foliage shows that it is not ripe, and the beet having 
new leaves growing indicates second growth, where the sugar content would be found to 
be poor. Never select beets from the outside rows, they probably being larger and not 
as mature as those more in the center of the field. Where a beet is pulled that 
has fingers or false roots growing on it, it should be thrown aside and another beet 
selected. After the samples are taken, the top of the beet should be cut off at the bottom 
of the lowest leaf, and it requires about five to six beets to get sufficient juice to make 
a proper polariscope test. 

THE PRODITCTION OF SUGAR BEET SEED 

in this country is receiving constantly increased attention. The work of the Lehi factory 
in selecting the highest grade mother beets and raising its own seed has already resulted 
in a material increase in the sugar content. California seedsmen are giving the matter 
careful attention. The United States department of agriculture and various experiment 
stations are also working on the problem. It is only a question of time before this coun- 
try produces all the beet seed it will consume. As the cost for seed is from $1 to $2 per 
acre, and as upward of 2,000,000 acres of beets will eventually be grown in this country 
every year to supply the home market with sugar, the extent of the sugar beet seed spe- 
cialty may at once be realized. Fortunately, the only obstacle heretofore in the way of 
raising our own sugar beet seed has been removed by the publication of Lewis S. Ware's 
new book, "Sugar Beet Seed," by the Orange Judd Company. This book is an elaborate 
study of the methods followed by the most successful beet seed producers of Europe, and 
a careful reading of its pages will be a great help to everyone interested in this phase 
of the industry. 

The factory usually furnishes seed to the farmers in order to insure best results. 
That plan avoids such instances as this: "Fraud in sugar beet seed has already begun A. 



THE BEET SUGAK INDUSTRY. 



197 




AN OREGON FIELD OF SUGAR BEETS. 

This crop made nearly 14 tons per acre, in spite of 1898 being a poor season and the first year beets 
! grown on this land or by this farmer They averaged I6V2 per cent, sugar of 83 purity. 



J. Ogran of Waupaca, Wis., paid a tree peddler $1 per lb. for sugar beet seed guaranteed 
to be of exceptionally rich quality. Samples of beets grown from this seed contained 
only 8 to 10 per cent, sugar in the juice with a purity of 68 to 71. These are some of the 
poorest analyses made at the Wisconsin station that year, most of the other samples run- 
ning from 12 to 18 per cent. This shows conclusively the importance of seed of the best 
varieties." 

The importance of good seed in sugar beet cultivation cannot be too strongly em- 
phasized. The United States consul at Magdeburg writes that because of the absolute 
superiority of German beet seed, not less than 100,000 bags of it were bought by French- 
men last year. It sells in Saxony at 8 and 10c per lb., which is a moderate price, con- 
sidering that it takes at least four years to get the seed into market. Second-class seed 
is sold there at 5 and 6c and is mainly shipped to Russia and the United States. This 
inferior seed produces a beet that will yield 1 to 2 per cent, less net sugar in the 
factory Thus, if it takes 55 tons of seed to produce 50,000 tons of beets, the consul fig- 
ures that the saving on first cost of cheap seed would be some $3000, but the beets there- 
fore would yield $30,000 worth less sugar. In other words, the best seed would earn 
$27,000 more for the factory than poor seed under like conditions. 

BOUNTIES TO THE SUfiAK IXDUSTRY. 

The enormous and rapid development of the beet sugar industry in Europe is 
partly due tc the way in which it has been stimulated by direct subsidies from the gov- 



198 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

eminent. In addition to extraordinarily high protection against foreign competition by 
means of very liberal duties on imported sugar, direct export bounties are still paid in 
Europe as follows: France pays a bounty of 30 to 39c per 100 lbs. on all domestic sugar 
exported; Germany, 27 to 38c; Austro-Hungary, 27 to 42c. A direct bounty on production 
of 45 to 51c per 100 lbs. is paid in the Netherlands, and Bulgaria pays the extraordinary 
bounty of 4c per lb. for 10 years. 

In the United States, the bounty of 2c per lb. provided for in the McKinley tariff 
of 1890 was offset by the admission of imported raw sugars free of duty. The system of 
direct bounties paid by the respective states has been tried in this country with some 
success. The present encouraging condition of the industry in Utah was brought about 
in the first place by the state bounty of Ic per lb., which helped the Lehi factory over its 
first season or two. Nebraska would have had no beet sugar factory, probably, but for 
the bounty equal to $1 per ton on beets grown in the state, which was paid for the first 
few years. The law provided a bounty equal to about Ic per lb. on sugar, conditional 
upon the farmers being paid at least $5 per ton for beets. 

In New York, the bounty paid by the state also helped to insure a speedy begin- 
ning of the industry. It became a law May 18, 1897, and appropriated $25,000 to be appor- 
tioned to sugar manufacturers pro rata, provided that none received more than Ic per lb., 
and provided that not less than $5 per ton was paid for beets grown in the state by others 
than the manufacturer of the sugar. The law also authorized the state commissioner of 
agriculture to spend 10 per cent, of the appropriation in practical and scientific experi- 
ments in growing sugar beets. It provides for the inspection and sampling of beets. In 
1898, $50,000 was appropriated for this bounty. 

In New Jersey, the legislature of 1898 passed a similar law, but it was vetoed by 
the governor, on the ground that experiments did not indicate suflBcient grounds for 
believing that the industry could be made a practical success in that state. 

In Washington, the legislature of 1897 passed a law offering a bounty of Ic per lb. 
on sugar made within the state containing 90 per cent, of crystallized sugar, produced 
from beets for which not less than $4 per ton had been paid. This bounty goes to any 
factory that is completed prior to November 1, '99, and shall continue for three years. 

Michigan, by act of March 26, '97. offers a bounty of Ic per lb. for 90 per cent, crys- 
tallized sugar made from beets for which at least $4 per ton of 2000 lbs. has been paid, for 
all beets containing 12 per cent, of sugar, and a proportionate amount shall be paid for 
beets containing a greater or less per cent, of sugar. The law carefully provides for 
inspection, weighing, etc., and appropriates $10,000 for paying the bounty, with the pro- 
viso that any deficit be paid from the general fund not otherwise appropriated, to which 
is added a final section, as follows: 

Sec. 8. Every person, firm or corporation that shall erect and have in operation 
in this state a factory for the manufacture of sugar from beets, with a capacity of 2000 
lbs. of sugar or upwards per day while this act is in force, shall be entitled to receive 
from the state the sum of Ic per lb. for all sugar manufactured from beets at such fac- 
tory, for a period of at least seven years from the taking effect of this act. 

Under the latter clause there is no limit to the amount the state may be called upon 
to pay, and as the Bay City factory during its first campaign of '98 made some 7,500,000 
lbs. of sugar, it draws $75,000 bounty from the state. This law has led to the placing of 
contracts for the erection of at least two other factories in Michigan as we write, so 
that '99 will see at least three factories operating in that state that will pay for beets 
upward of $500,000 a year. 

Exemption from taxation for all property invested in the beet sugar industry 
(except special assessments for local improvements in cities and villages) is offered by 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



199 



Wisconsin for five years from 1897. Wyoming exempts from all taxation for ten years. 
A number of state legislatures will now be asked to furnish a bounty of some form 
for a few years. In most cases they will probably accede to this request. It will do 
much to insure a supply of beets the first year or two, or until farmers generally have 
learned to grow the crop to advantage. In all such cases the law should be so worded 
that a bounty of Ic per lb. should in effect go to the producer, so that, instead of $4 per 
ton, he may get $5 per ton for beets. States may well afford this encouragement to their 
farmers for a few years, because one or two successful factories in a state will mean the 




HAND CULTIVATION OF SUGAR BEETS. 
This shows the Planet Jr. double wheel hoe in a field of beets, leaving the crop clean and 
thoroughly worked, and the ground level, using the cultivator teeth only. From a photograph taken 
in central New York 

establishment of others. Moreover, such a state bounty will be some offset to the uncer- 
tainties of congressional action. It will not be necessary for any state to offer a bounty 
for a long term of years, nor do we approve of such, but under present circumstances, 
some special local encouragement for a few years, under proper safeguards, will prove 
to be a good policy for all concerned. 



A FEDERAI, BOUNTY. 

Speaking of the possibility of protection to the domestic sugar industry being threat- 
ened by the admission of sugars from the tropics duty free, Mr. Ware says in The Sugar 
Beet for October, 1898: 

There is only one remaining solution for promoting the beet sugar industry in 
this country, and that is a bounty on home production and exportation. European experi- 



200 THE SUGAR li^DUSTRY. 

ence shows that not only does a well-arranged bountj' force the manufacturer to improve 
his processes, but encourages the production of more sugar than the local demand needs 
for its consumption. The bounty as it hitherto existed in this country was upon sugar 
extracted; the effort of manufacturers, then, was to secure that bounty, regardless of 
careful scientific processes. The good that could follow was and will always be tempo- 
rary. On the other hand, if we admit that an average factory can extract 10 lbs. of sugar 
from 100 lbs. of beets, let a bounty be paid to those manufacturers who exceed that 
amount. To accomplish this, superior beets and machinery are needed, higher prices 
would be paid to farmers, who will thus receive a great encouragement for the produc- 
tion of roots having a high sugar percentage. Let manufacturers receive from the United 
States government one cent a pound for all sugar exported; let all new and existing fac- 
tories pay a tax into the treasury in amounts proportional to their annual production. 
This method would prevent the building of patched-up so-called beet sugar factories and 
would encourage the erection of beet sugar plants only after the latest and most im- 
proved designs. Ample capital could be secured for their working; the government tax 
would be a trifle as compared with the profits to the manufacturer and farmer. With 
Cuban, Porto Rican and Philippine sugars in competition, the American beet sugar 
industry could hold its own. The monopolists of these islands will cause, sooner or later, 
a rise in the price of sugar per pound; home beet sugar will derive the benefit just as it 
does in California. Another question remains, should not the United States government 
collect an export tax on sugar leaving the islands now under our flag? This would be a 
means of forcing each state to pay the war expenses incurred by its annexation. 

NEW STANDARD OF PAYMENT. 

Beets are usually paid for by two plans: (1) At a straight price, say $4 per ton, 
for all that test 12 per cent, sugar of 80 purity or above; 2, at a graded price, say $3.50 
per ton for 12 per cent, and SO purity, and 25c more for each additional 1 per cent, of 
sugar or 25c less for each reduction of 1 per cent, sugar. By the latter plan, beets con- 
taining 16 per cent, sugar would net $4.50 per ton, against only $4 by the first plan. 

The graded price is an effort to pay for beets according to their quality. But it is 
not a strictly accurate method, as it is based only upon the quantity of sugar. The scien- 
tifically exact plan would be to grade the price upon both quantity and quality. A beet 
of 16 per cent, sugar of 90 purity is worth considerably more than one of 16 per cent, and 
80, but by the grading now in vogue they would be paid for at the same price. 

Prof. P. G. Sukey, chemist at the University of Michigan, calls our attention to 
Stamner's method of meeting this difficulty, as outlined in Prof. Sukey's article in the 
Louisiana Planter, Dec. 11, '97. He would base contracts for beets on a standard of 10, 
called the "number of value." Thus a beet containing 12.75 per cent, sugar and a purity 
of 78.75, multiplied together and divided by 100, would be the standard, for which he pro- 
poses that $3.80 should be paid. For every additional number of value 20c per ton more 
should be paid, and for every number of value belov/ 10 should be deducted 20c per ton. 
Vve figure that the new method would compare with the present graded or straight prices 
as follows: 

Price per ton of beets 



Sugar X purity 


gives number 


of value 




11x75 


— 8 


12x80 


— 9 


12.75x78.75 


—10 


13.25x80 


—10 


13.25x85 


—11 


14x80 


—11 


14x86 


—12 


15x80 


—12 


15x87 


—13 


16.25x85 


—14 



New 


Graded 


Straight 


method 


method 


method 


$3.40 


$3.25 


$4.00 


3.60 


3.50 


4.00 


3.80 


3.50 


4.00 


3.80 


3.50 


4.00 


4.00 


3.50 


4.00 


4.00 


4.00 


4.00 


4.20 


4.00 


4.00 


4.20 


4.25 


4.00 


4.40 


4.25 


4.00 


4.60 


4.50 


4.00 



THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



301 



Stamner's number of value is fully as simple as the present graded method and more 
accurate. Either plan of grading encourages the production of rich beets. Stamner's 
method is to beets what the Babcock test is to cream. But lots of farmers are suspicious 
of either test, and prefer a straight ^jrice, regardless of quality. That is why it is adhered 
to at Lehi and at the Spreckels factories, though these beets are almost always well above 
12 and 80, so that there is little risk to the factory and the bother of testing is avoided. The 
other factories in this country grade the price, but not all on exactly the same basis. 

THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

published in the spring of 1898, a bulletin giving a comprehensive account of all its work 
with the sugar beet up to that time. Writing in January, '99, Dr. H. W. Wiley, the 
chemist, says that the analytical data obtained from beets grown in '98 corroborated 
entirely the results of the season of '97. "The best results have been from beets 
grown in New York, Michigan, northern Indiana, northern Ohio, Wisconsin and Minne- 
sota. I do not think that a final study of our data will cause any change, either in the 
arct. mapped out as probably suitable for the industrj' nor in the distribution within that 
area Df favorable localities." 

NEW POINTS FROM THE SOUTH. 

Florida is becoming very much interested in sugar cane. Analyses made at the 
Florid I experiment station of the crop grown during 1898 showed from 20 to 29 per cent, 
sucrose. The average of the station's crop when harvested Dec. 5 was 25 per cent. The 
station has demonstrated that with Spanish moss the crude juice of the sugar cane can 
be nicely clarified and the sugar made therefrom given a light brown color. It can be 
further whitened by refining with clay that has been slightly blued by the introduction 
of a little powdered ultramarine. The effect is an apparently white sugar, really no purer 
or better than the yellow article, but which meets the public demand and sells for a better 
price. These methods of making a colored product of sugar and syrup on the farm with 
comparatively rude and expensive methods are attracting great attention and caus- 
ing a large increase in the cultivation of sugar cane in Florida. 




i»;^^«ag' 



'^AM 



THINNING AND CLEANING BEETS, LA GRANDE, OREGON- 




CLAUS SPRECKELS. 



***>* 



^ 





E. h; dyer. 



EDWARD F. DYKR. 



APPENDIX. 



<*5 Some Leaders in Creating: This New Industry. 



A REMARKABLE MAN AND HIS WONDERFUL CAREER. 

Claus Spreckels was born in Hanover, the young German arriving at New York in 
1830. He became the proprietor of a small retail grocery store. With the discovery of 
gold in California, he closed his business in New York and went to the Pacific coast — not 
as a prospector or a miner, but as a merchant. He continued as a grocer, maintaining 
the reputation he had gained in New York as a keen business man, but achieving no 
special prominence. After 25 years of fairly prosperous business, he began outside invest- 
ments. They proved most profitable and he soon sought larger fields. He became known 
as a speculator in sugar, and studying this trade carefully, he found that it was then 
dependent upon a supply from outside sources and was extremely costly on the Pacific 
coast. 

In deciding upon a location for the production of sugar, he found a Paradise in 
the Pacific ocean — the Hawaiian Islands — and here Mr. Spreckels settled. Sugar could bo 
raised more cheaply here than in the United States, and could be shipped to the Pacific 
coast cheaper than from the sugar producing regions of the Union. Mr. Spreckels was 
always prominent among the white population, and devoted his time largely to securing 
sugar plantations. .Just how he obtained control of the entire sugar output of the Sand- 
wich Islands will probably never be known. He did, howeA'^er, and long before 1885 was 
known as the sugar king of the Sandwich Islands. His power was far greater than that 
of the native ruling monarch. All the sugar plantations were under his personal control, 
and all the product was refined at his plants and later sent to the United States. 

It was during this period that he accumulated his enormous fortune which enabled 
him to successfully contend against the sugar trust. When that gigantic monopoly 
undertook to drive him out of the sugar business on the coast, he not only successfully 
contended against it, but, erecting a big refinery at Philadelphia, brought the trust to 
terms in its very home. The trust bought out his eastern business at his own price and 
agreed to leave his western business alone. He made several millions in this deal. 

Mr. Spreckels early saw the immense possibilities of the beet sugar industry in 
the United States. He was so impressed therewith that he gradually sold out his Ha- 
waiian interests, as the success of the beet sugar industry was demonstrated at Watson- 
ville, Cal. The eleven years' record of that enterprise is stated on Page 170, and was 
such as to warrant Mr. Spreckels in building the largest beet sugar mill in the world. It 
is located in the heart of the rich Salinas valley, California, and the new city of Spreck- 
els is grov/ing up about it. A full description of this mammoth plant is a feature of the 
present book (see Pages VIII, 170, 179, 181). This vast enterprise is a fitting monument to 
the man, who is one of the typical "makers of the west." 

Mr. Spreckels married early in life. He was always known as a man of domestic 
tastes, preferring his own home to the attractions of society. He is, however, well known 
in the social world, both east and west. His favorite amusement is the friendly game of 

(203) 



204 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

cards. He has five children, four sons and one daughter, all of whom are well educated 
and have traveled much. The son, John D. Spreckels, has long been his father's right-hand 
man in his large business enterprises, aided by another son, A. B. Spreckels. 

Claus Spreckels is of medium hight, strongly built, and despite his many years is 
tremendously active and capable of much work. About the only indication of age is the 
increasing whiteness of his hair. After all the years that he has lived in America, he 
still speaks with a decided German accent. His success in accumulating a fortune has 
certainly beer phenomenal. He began at the lowest round of the ladder, and by patience, 
industry, sobriety, devotion to business and good judgment, has become one of the 
wealthiest men in the United States. He is one of the keenest of men. A few years ago, 
the financial world was agog over the "electric" method in sugar refining. Its promoters 
got a vast sum out of the eastern refiners and then went to 'Frisco to "take in" Mr. 
Spreckels. He listened patiently to the description of their marvelous process, and when 
they had finished only asked, "What becomes of the dirt!" The promoters had failed to 
think of that point, and were utterly disconcerted. The thing was a fake. 

THE BEET SUGAR PIONEER. 

For 30 years E. H. Dyer has been almost continuously engaged in the manufacture 
of beet sugar in the United States, and now, at the ripe age of 78, in robust health and 
sturdy mental vigor, is about to see the realization of his most cherished hopes in the 
development of the industry to such an extent as to supply the American market with 
American sugar. He was the pioneer in the commercial beet sugar industry, and upon 
the results of his work the industry has been placed on a sound industrial basis, and only 
requires the proposed favorable national policy for its gigantic development. One has 
only to read a brief sketch of his life to realize the service E. H. Dyer and his boys have 
done to our beloved country. 

Mr Dyer erected the first beet sugar factory on the Pacific coast at Alvarado, Cali- 
fornia, in 1870. After running four years, it proved a failure, through the incompetency 
of the technical management — two Germans who had operated in a small and unsuccess- 
ful way at Fond du Lac, Wis. They claimed that the location was not suitable, organized 
a new company and moved the outfit to Soquel, Santa Cruz county, where, after a few 
years of heavy losses, it was abandoned. Mr. Dyer, who had purchased the land and 
buildings of the old plant at Alvarado, still had confidence in the business under good 
management. But it was difficult, in the face of so many failures, to induce capitalists 
to invest with him, and it was not until 1879 that the machinery was returned to Alva- 
rado and the factory started by the Standard Sugfir Refining Company, O. F. Griffin 
president and E. H. Dyer superintendent. This was a success from the start and paid 
satisfactory dividends for eight years, when a boiler explosion completely wrecked the 
factory. The profits of the first four campaigns were $104,081, being the first sugar made 
in the United States from beets at a profit. 

Mr Dyer became convinced that the complete success of the industry in this coun- 
try could not be obtained as long as we depended upon foreign countries for machinery, 
so he and his son, Edward F., and H. P. Dyer, a mechanical engineer and draftsman, spent 
many months in German sugarhouses and machine shops. In 1888 they entirely rebuilt 
the plant at Alvarado, which has run successfully ever since and has recently been 
increased to a capacity of 800 tons per day. The Dyers then built the model beet sugar- 
house at Lehi, Utah, and have since constructed other successful factories. The young 
men referred to planned all their machinery and had it made in this country, with such 
success as to greatly economize both labor and fuel, enabling them to extract all the 
available sugar from the beet at a much less cost than ever before. 



APPENDIX. 206 

^^ Factory Contracts with Beet Growers. 

The various forms of agreement used in the United States are covered by the fol- 
lowing selections: 

UTAH SUGAR COMPANY'S CONTRACT. 

This agreement made and entered into this day of 1898, between the Utah 

Sugar Company (a corporation) the first party, and of Lehi, second party, Wit- 

nesseth: That the first party agrees to purchase from second party any and all beets he 

may produce (from seed furnished by the first party at the rate of 15c per lb.) on the 

acres of land hereby agreed upon, that do not weigh over V/2 lbs. each and contain not 
less than 12 per cent, sugar in the beet and that have a purity co-efhcient of not less than 
80 per cent., paying him therefor at the rate of $4.25 per ton, delivered and piled in a 
proper manner under first party's direction and unloaded at the Utah Sugar Company's 
factory at Lehi at cost of second party in first-class condition, with the tops closely and 
squarely cut off at the base of the last or bottom leaf. The beets so delivered shall reach 
all the requirements of this agreement, and not contain any diseased, frozen, damaged, 
or improperly topped beets, nor any beet that weighs over 3V2 lbs., otherwise the entire 
load so being delivered may be rejected. The dirt weighed with the beets shall be tared 
and deducted from the gross weight by the first party in its customary manner, and shall 
be conclusive. Payment shall be made on or about the 15th day of each month for beets 
delivered the previous month. Said beets to be delivered only when ordered by the first 
party up to Oct. 15, 1898, after which time and until Nov. 30, 1898, second party may 
deliver beets as fast as he may desire, if the said beets reach the required standard. To 
ascertain the quality of the beets, the first party shall at various times before and includ- 
ing Nov. 30, 1S98, and also at times of delivery, sample and polarize in the usual manner, 
the results of which shall be conclusive. If said beets have not reached the required 
standard by Nov. 1st, 1898, tested in the usual and customary manner, and if after that 
time and up to time of the delivery attain it, then the first party may deduct 50c per ton 
from the contract price. After the 30th of November, 1898, it shall be optional with the 
first party w^hether or not it accepts any beets that have not been delivered. The second 

party hereby agrees to plant, cultivate and harvest, in a husbandmanlike manner 

acres of sugar beets on the land agreed hereon and protect them from the frost and sun 
while being harvested and delivered, and deliver them at the times, places, and in the 
manner set forth in this contract for the sum of four dollars and twenty-five cents per 
+.on, to be paid as above set forth. This contract is not transferable. 

CONTRACTS UNDER STATE BOUNTY LAWS, NEW YORK. 

This Agreement made and entered into by and between of in the county 

of , state of New York, party of the first part, and FIRST NEW YORK BEET SUGAR 

COMPANY, of Rome, N. Y., party of the second part: Witnesseth, That the party of the 
first part, for a valuable consideration to him in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby 
acknowledged, agrees to and with the party of the second part, that he will properly 

sow acres of the part of his farm that will produce the best sugar beets, with seed to 

be furnished free by party of the second part, and to properly care for and cultivate the 
crop raised thereon for and during the season of 1808. and to deliver tKe same properly 
topped when so ordered on board boat or car for factory at Rome, N Y. 

The party of the second part, in consideration of the premises, hereby covenants 
and agrees to and with the said party of the first part, First; to furnish the seed free suf- 
ficient to sow acres and to deliver the same at — ; Second, to pay to him for said 

beets to be delivered as aforesaid, the sum of Five Dollars, cash, per ton of 2000 lbs., on 
or before February, 1899, at the oflice of said Company at Rome, N. Y., according to tho 
weight of same as ascertained at the factory of the said party of the second part at Rome, 
N. Y., by the official weigher designated by the State Commissioner of Agriculture. Beets 
to be loaded at . This contract is not assignable or transferable. 

MICHIGAN SUGAR COMPANY'S CONTRACT WITH FARMER. 

Contract made this day of by and between party of the first part, and 

the Michigan Sugar Company, party of the second part, Witnesseth, as follows-- The 
party of the first part, for and in consideration of One Dollar ($1) in hand paid «!)y the 



306 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

party of the second part, does hereby agree with the said Michigan Sugar Company, to 

plant, cultivate and harvest, to the best of his ability, in a husbandlike manner, 

acres of sugar beets, on the following described land, by said first party; in. 

section , township , range , in the county of , Michigan. That he will plant, 

cultivate and harvest the said beets from seed furnished by the Michigan Sugar Company, 
and when more than one kind is furniyhed. will keep the different kinds separate, in the 
sowing and harvesting. He will plow the soil deep and work it well before seeding, and 
so far as the Sugar Company or its agent shall give directions, he will, to the best of his 
ability, follow them in said seeding and harvesting. That he will sow about 18 lbs. of 
seed to the acre. 

He will harvest and deliver to the factory of said Sugar Company the beets so 
raised by him at, and as directed by said Company or its agent, as to time, quantity and 
manner of delivering. And when directed by said Sugar Company to deliver the beets 
by or before a certain time, he will put forth every reasonable effort to do so. In har- 
vesting said beets, he will cut off the tops clean and square at the base thereof, so that 
no part of the stem shall be left thereon. 

He will purchase all seed from which such beets are to be raised from the said 
Michigan Sugar Company, and will not accept any seed from other parties from which 
beets are to be raised for said company. That all seeds for the planting of beets under 
this contract shall be paid for at the rate of 15c per lb. at Bay City, and amount due for 
same shall be deducted from the first payment for beets delivered. That he will not dis- 
pose of any of the seed to other persons. That in case beets do not come up uniformly 
Irom the first time planting, he will as early as practicable re-plant the same. That he 
will thin out, weed out and cultivate the beets as early in the season as they are ready 
to be cultivated and thinned, giving prompt attention, and bestowing all necessary labor 
thereon in due time and season, to the end that the best possible results may be obtained. 
That he will sell or deliver no beets to any other person, firm, corporation or factory, 
but that all beets raised of a suitable quality shall be delivered to the Michigan Sugar 
Company as directed by it. 

The Michigan Sugar Company, party of the second part, agrees with said 

party of the first part, that it will furnish beet seed to said party of the first part, of a 
quality of the best that can be obtained by it for producing beets, so that if the said 
plants are well cultivated as herein specified, they will produce beets of a quality suitable 
for making sugar. That it will charge said party of the first part no more than 15c per 
lb. for seed. That it will for its own interest have an agent from time to time visit the 
field or fields of said first party as, to it, shall seem best, to the end that such work shall 
he done in a proper manner, with the purpose in view that the best quality of beets shall 
he produced by said first party. It is hereby further agreed by and between the parties 
that said Michigan Sugar Company reserves the right to give notice to the party of the 
first part to deliver said beets when and as it requires them, and that said first party 
Lereby agrees that all beets not delivered by him to said company, prior to Nov. 1st of 
the year in which this contract is made, shall be placed in silo, until they are wanted by 
the company. 

It is further agreed between the parties hereto that beets testing 12 per cent, to 
sugar and of a co-efficient purity of 80 per cent, shall be accepted by said company not 
later than January 15th next, and paid for at $4 per ton, delivered in the company's stor- 
age sheds at its factory; and a sum proportionate to that amount shall be paid for beets 
containing a greater or less amount of sugar and co-efficient purity; provided that when 
the beets are delivered in carload lots and it is necessary that they be put into the stor- 
age sheds, the company shall unload them and charge therefor only the actual cost 
thereof. That in case the party of the first part shall fail to fulfill the requirements of 
this contract in growing, cultivating and delivering of said beets, said party of the second 
part may put on a force of men and teams as the case may require, and carry out this 
contract as herein agreed; but this latter clause shall in no way absolve said first party 
from his obligations to said company. 

It is further agreed that when and as the beets are delivered to the storing sheds 
of said party of the second part, they shall be examined, tested and weighed by the state 
"weighman and inspector and in accordance with the state law now in force in this state, 
known as an "Act to provide for the encouragement of the manufacture of beet sugar 
and other purposes," approved March 26th, 1897. And when so tested and weighed and 
the amount of each wagon or carload, as the case may be, has been determined as to per 
cent, of sugar, co-efflcient purity, and quantity of such beets, and certificate furnished 



APPENDIX. 20* 

thereof by said weighman and inspector, showing the quantity and quality thereof, set- 
tlement thereon shall be had and payment made on the 15th of the month following, for 
deliveries of beets during the previous month. 

Said party of the first part agrees that so far as he is able to do, after receiving 
instructions from the agent of said company and of the state inspector, that he will 
assort out all beets that are not of a quality herein specified, and retain them for his own 
use on the farm. The said company shall not be required to take any beets that have been 
frozen or rotted or are otherwise defective so as to render them unfit for making sugar. 

Said party of the first part further agrees to notify said company as early as Aug. 
15th, in the year in which he is raising beets, how many acres of beets he will have to 
harvest the coming fall. 

When this contract has been signed and a copy thereof delivered to each party, no 
agent of said company has any authority to change or alter the terms or conditions 
thereof. 

WHERE THERE IS NO STATE BOUNTY. LOS ALAMITOS CONTRACT. 

This Agreement, made this day of 189 , between the Los Alamitos 

Sugar Company of the county of Orange, California, party of the first part, and 

party of the second part, Witnesseth: That for and in consideration of the covenants 
hereinafter contained, it is hereby mutually agreed between the parties hereto as fol- 
lows, to-wit: 

[«] That the party of the first part shall furnish, for the purposes hereinafter 
stated, that certain tract of land situated in the county of Orange, state of California, 
and described as follows: 

[/>] That for the current cropping season, beginning January 1st, 1898, and ending 
January 1st, 1899, the party of the second part shall, in the manner hereinafter specified, 
plant or cause to be planted, the above described land to sugar beets, the seed to be fur- 
nished by the party of the first part at 12c per lb., which amount said party of the second 
part agrees to pay therefor. 

[c] That the time and method of preparing the ground, planting the seed, cultivat- 
ing, weeding, thinning, gathering and delivering said beets shall be in accordance with 
the instructions to be received from time to time by the party of the second part, from 
the party of the first part. The seed shall be sown in quantities to be designated by the 
party of the first part, say between 12 and 18 lbs. to the acre. And the land shall, when- 
ever it is deemed necessary by the party of the first part, be subsoiled to a depth of not 
less than 12 inches. The beets shall be preserved from sun and rain, and shall be deliv- 
«red as hereinafter specified, as free from dirt as circumstances will admit, clean and 
in good condition, with tops closely and squarely cut off at the base of the last or bottom 
leaves, according to instructions, especially as to times and methods, received from time 
to time from the party of the first part. All manure which may accumulate on the prem- 
ises, including the leaves cut from beets as gathered, shall be distributed and plowed 
under by the party of the second part as a fertilizer. When directed by the party of the 
first part, the party of the second part is to commence and proceed with the harvesting 
and gathering of the crop, and continue delivery thereof at the Los Alamitos Sugar Fac- 
tory; the date of delivery and amount to be delivered each day shall be determined by 
the party of the first part. 

[d] That the party of the second part shall not permit weeds to grow among the 
teets, and shall keep weeds cut down to the center of the road or avenues on or adjacent 
to the said land. 

[el That whenever the party of the second part shall fail or neglect to promptly 
and properly comply with the requirements of this contract, or with the verbal or writ- 
ten instructions of the party of the first part, or its agent, in respect to the plowing of 
said land, or the planting, thinning, weeding, cultivating, harvesting or delivering of the 
beets grown thereon, or the keeping of said roads and avenues clear of weeds as afore- 
said, it is agreed that the party of the first part shall have the right, if it so elects, to 
enter upon said lands without notice, and to do and perform any of the said acts or 
things so neglected by the party of the second part, and the cost and expense thereof 
shall be a charge against the said second party's share of the said crop. The party of the 
first part shall be the sole judge as to the fact of such neglect by the party of the second 
part. Beets not properly cut and trimmed, or with dirt clinging to them, will be cleaned 
and cut and the tare deducted from the weight of beets, and it is mutually agreed that 
the party of the second part shall pay to the party of the first part cents per ton of 



208 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

beets to cover laboratory, tare taking, weighing and other expenses for the purpose of 
protecting the interests of the parties hereto, and said amount shall be deducted from the 
amounts due said second party for beets delivered. 

[/I That in case the Los Alamitos Sugar Factory is damaged by fire, or otherwise 
in such a way that it will be impossible to repair same in time to work the crop of beets, 
then this contract shall, at the option of the first party, become null and void; and in the 
event of its exercising such option, the party of the first part agrees either to pay to the 
party of the second part, $11.25 per acre for every acre contracted for and actually 
planted with such beet seed at the time of the disaster, or in the event of such disaster, 
and also at the request of the party of the first part the party of the second part shall 
deliver said beets at the railroad depot at said factory site in such quantity as the party of 

the first part shall require, but not to exceed tons per day, at the same prices and 

on the same terms as hereinafter specified. The party of the first part may exercise 
either alternative as above specified, and the fulfilment of the same shall be binding upon 
the part of the second party upon notice by the party of the first part. 

For all beets delivered at the factory according to the conditions named above, the 
party of the first part agrees to pay as follows — $3.50 per ton for beets containing 12 per 
cent, of sugar to the weight of the beet, with a purity co-efficient of 80; and an additional 
25c per ton for each and every per cent, of sugar contained above 12 per cent., as deter- 
mined by test made in the laboratory of the party of the first part. In determining the 
percentage of sugar, any fraction of 1 per cent, under one-half of 1 per cent, shall not be 
counted, but any fraction of 1 per cent, not less than one-half of 1 per cent, shall not be 
counted as 1 per cent. The party of the first part reserves the right to reject very large 
beets, diseased beets, or those parts of beets grown above the ground not fit to be man- 
ufactured into sugar, or beets below 12 per cent., or whose co-efficient purity is less 
than 80. 

The party of the first part shall be entitled to the one-fourth part of the crop raised 
on the land above described, as rental thereof, the same to be delivered at the factory. 
Five per cent, of the amount coming to the party of the second part for his share of the 
said crop, shall be retained by the party of the first part, until the said land has been 
thoroughly cleaned of all weeds and beets after harvest. 

It is further expressly agreed, that possession of the entire crop to be raised on 
said lands, shall remain in the party of the first part, until the said rent has been paid, 
and until all amounts which may be or may become due from the party of the second 
part to the party of the first part under the terms of this lease, whether it be for seed, or 
laboratory expenses, or the expenses mentioned in clause "c" of this contract, or on 
account of any other covenant herein contained, have been fully paid; and that any 
attempt by the party of the second part to sell, transfer, convey or mortgage said crop 
or his interest therein prior to the delivery thereof as herein agreed, shall entitle the 
party of the first part to at once take the same into his own hands and proceed to deal 
therewith in all respects, the same as if the property had been entirely sown and planted 
by the party of the first part and this contract had never been made. 

The party of the first part will advance to the party of the second part from time 
to time, during the beet thinning season, such sums as may be recommended by the field 
superintendent of the party of the first part, for the purpose of thinning or weeding the 

said crop, and not to exceed per acre, for which the party of the second part shall 

give a note or notes, payable out of the first deliveries of beets made by him to the fac- 
tory, and bearing interest at the rate of per cent, per annum, said notes to be secured 

by a chattel mortgage on the interest of said second party in said crop, the same to be 
executed and delivered at the time of making such advances. The party of the second 
part agrees to plant all the seed furnished by the party of the first part, on the acreage 
contracted for, as described above, and dispose of it in no other way. 

Payments will be made on the 15th of every month for beets delivered during the 
previous month, and all moneys due by the party of the second part to the party of the 
first part shall be deducted from the first payments. Notice should be given to the party 
of the first part at once if anything detrimental occurs to the crop after the seeds are in 
the ground. 

THE SPRECKELS CONTRACTS 
with farmers who supply beets to the factories at Watsonville or Salinas, Cal. 

A — FOR FAKMERS WHO RAISE TTIF CROP OX THEIR OWN LAND. 

This Agreement, made and entered into between the Spreckels Sugar Company, 
a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the state of California, party of the 



APPENDIX. 209 

first part, and of county, California, party of the second part, Witnesseth: That 

for and in consideration of the covenants hereinafter contained on the part of the party 
of the first part, that the party of the second part shall and will plant, cultivate, harvest 
and deliver to said party of the tirst part, at its sugar works, at Watsonville, Santa Cruz 
county, California, or at Spreckels, Monterey county, California, at option of party of the 
first part during the current planting and harvesting season of A. D. 1898, sugar beets 
of the seed to be furnished for that purpose by the said party of the first part, to the 

extent of acres of land in county, the particular tract to be cultivated being 

now selected and agreed upon between the parties thereto. 

The party of the first part hereby agrees to furnish the necessary beet seed at 10c 
per lb., which alone shall be employed in raising said crop; the cost of said seed and any 
advances made by the party of the first part on account of beets raised under this con- 
tract to be deducted from the price of the beets first delivered under this contract, until 
the party of the first part shall be reimbursed. It is also agreed that the party of the 
second part shall cultivate up and re-sow to beets any of aforesaid land upon which the 
beets do not come up to the satisfaction of the party of the first part. 

When directed by the party of the first part, the said party of the second part shall 
commence and proceed with the harvesting and gathering of the crop and to continue 
the delivery thereof in the beet bins at the Watsonville or at the Spreckels sugar works, 
whichever may be designated by the party of the first part, clean and in good condition, 
and with the tops closely and squarely cut off at the base or bottom of the green or sun- 
burned part, until the said crop shall be exhausted. The date of delivery and the amount 
to be delivered each day shall be determined by the party of the first part, and shall be 
increased or diminished to meet the requirements of its factories as it may direct. 

Beets weighing above 5 lbs., or grown mostly above ground, or defective and unfit 
to be manufactured into sugar, will not be received. From all beets delivered the party 
of the first part shall have the right to deduct 5 per cent, for earth and sunburned tops; 
but if a trial washing shall show more than 5 per cent, of earth and sunburned tops, all 
amount in excess of 5 per cent, shall also be deducted. The party of the second part 
further agrees that he will keep beets protected from sun and frost after removal of said 
beets from the ground. 

Should the party of the second part neglect or refuse to comply with the above 
conditions, the party of the first part has the right, at its option, to cancel this contract. 
It is further agreed that the party of the first part or its agents shall at all times have 
access to the tract of land cultivated under this contract by the party of the second part. 

In Consideration Whereof, the party of the first part agrees to pay four dollars ($4) 
in lawful money of the United States, per ton, for all beets cultivated and delivered in 
accordance with the terms of this agreement. Beets shall be paid for at the office of the 
Spreckels Sugar Companj--, at Watsonville, on the fifteenth day of the next following 
month after the beets are delivered. 

B — FOR GROWlTs'O HEETS UNDER CONTRACT, 

This Agreement, made and entered into between hereinafter called first party, 

and hereinafter called second party, Witnesseth: That for and in consideration of 

the covenants hereinafter contained, on the part of first party, to thin out, hoe, clean, 
at the different times and In the manner prescribed by first party, to thin out, hoe, clean, 

cultivate, pull, top and load into wagons provided by first party, sugar beets upon 

acres, more or less, to be planted by first party the present season, in valley 

county, California, the particular tract now being selected and agreed upon between both 
parties. Second party further agrees: (1) To commence to thin and hoe beets as soon 
as they shall develop two leaves and provide sufficient men to complete thinning and 

hoeing before beets shall be four inches high. (2) To thin out beets inches apart 

in the rows, and to leave not more than one beet to each inches of row, to hoe with 

hand or horse hoes the entire soil between the rows directly after beets are thinned, and 
to carefully pull or hoe out all weeds growing thereafter until beets are harvested. (3) 
When directed by first party to pull, shake free from the adhering earth, top and load 
beets into wagons; beets to be topped cleanly and squarely with one blow of the knife 
at base of bottom or last leaves, and any portion of the beet grown above ground to be 
also cut off. All beets above 5 lbs. in weight to be thrown out. Beets will be carefully 
plowed out by first party, but any beets not loosened by the plow shall be dug out by 
iecond party. (4) When beets are harvested, second party shall top and load into wagons 



210 THE SUGAR INDUSTEY. 

as many tons of beets each day, as first party shall be required to deliver by the Spreckels 
Sugar Company. (5) To protect plowed out beets from sun and frost while in the field. 
Second party further agrees to personally superintend the work of cultivation and har- 
vesting of beets, and to have it done in a proper and farm-like manner, and to the satis- 
faction of first party. 

It is further agreed, that if second party or any men of second party shall neglect 
or refuse to comply with above conditions, or neglect or refuse to perform any of above 
operations at time set or in manner prescribed by first party, that first party shall have 
the right and option to cancel this contract; and any money that may have become due 
to second party on account of work performed shall be forfeited to first party; or it 
shall be optional with first party to put in men to complete any work unfinished or neg- 
lected by second party or any men of second party, and charge the cost of such labor to 
second party. 

In Consideration Whereof, first party agrees: (1) To provide transportation to 
and from the land aforesaid for men and baggage of second party. (2) To furnish second 
party with hoes, files and knives to be used in the cultivation and harvesting of beets. 
Said hoes, files and knives to be returned in good order as soon as work on beets is 
finished. (3) To provide houses or tents, wood for cooking purposes and water to men 
of second party while they shall be engaged in cultivation and harvesting of beets. (4) 
That after beets shall be all thinned and hoed to the satisfaction of first party to advance 

unto second party the sum of per acre, for each acre of beets so thinned and hoed: 

the amount of said advances to be deducted from first moneys that shall become due 

under this contract until first party is reimbursed. (.5) To pay unto second party in 

gold coin or its equivalent, per ton for all beets cultivated in accordance with the terms 
of this agreement and delivered from land aforesaid, on the fifteenth day of the next 
month after the beets are delivered. Payment for beets shall be based upon actual weight 
of washed beets received by factory in Watsonville or Spreckels. 



List of Illustrations. 



Allen, President R,M 43 

Batteries, etc., at Ogden 163 

liattery of diffusion cells 157 

Beet and cane areas 72 

Beet forms 32,75,76,77,101 

Beet planter 87 

Beet seeder , 85 

Beet sugar, how made 30 

Beet washer 155 

Boiler room 55 

Cane cultivator 27 

Cane stubble digger 27 

Caro (Mich.) proposed factory 153 

Centrifugals at Minnesota works 161 

Centrifugals, Oregon 177 

Chart of sugar factories 142 

Chino factory 45 

Cross-section of beet 137 

Cross-section Wisconsin silo 117 

Cultivators for beets 89,94,97,99,185,199 

Cutting sugar 25 

Delivering beets at Norfolk 39 

Delver for subsoil 125 

Dyer, Edward F 202 

Dyer,E.H 202 

Effect of deep plowing 189 

Engine room 63, 147 

Evaporators at Chino 65 

Evaporators, Oxnard 186 

Farwell, Charles A 19 

Father of America's beet factories 33 

Field of sugar beets 69,81,150,158, 197 

Field of sugar cane 182 

Filter presses at Lehi 67 

Florida cane sugar plantation 23 

Founder of America's Industry 31 

<Toessmann, Dr. C. A. 34 

Orand Island (Neb.) factory 53 

Harvester and topper lOr 

Horse hoe for beet growers 97 



Improved beet sugar factory 3T 

Largest beet sugar factory 179 

Lehi's factory 35,115 

Lime kilns at Chino 47 

Los Alaniitos sugar works 129,159,173 

Louisiana cane sugar house 18, 21, 26 

Mammoth sugar mill I8I 

Menomonee Falls (Wis.) factory 61 

Michigan's first sugar factory 15 

Minnesota's sugar works 160 

Nebraska silo 113 

Nebraska sugar beets 140 

New York's first factory 145 

Norfolk (Neb.) factory 49,51 

Ogden's beet shed 165 

Oregon's first sugar works 57 

Pacific sugar factory II, III, VI, VII 

Pecos Valley factory 59 

Pulp dump 169 

Ready for the harvest 144 

Receiving beets, Alvarado 109 

Rotary lime-re burning kilns 152 

Spreckels, Clans 202 

Spreckels factory at Spreckels, Cal VIII 

Spreckels factory at Watsonville 170 

Steam-plow engine 93, 190 

Storing beets in Wisconsin 61 

Subsoil plows 79. 83 

Sugar beet matured 103 

Sugar factories, where wanted 42 

Thinning and cleaning beets 201 

Typical Oregon beets 183 

Union sugar works 175 

Unloading beet 168,193,195 

Utah's storage sheds Ill 

Vacuum pan at Lehi 28 

Ware, Lewis S 34 

Weeding out beets 95 

Wiley, H. W M 



312 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

DOMESTIC SUGAR PRODUCERS ORGANIZED. 

The American Sugar Growers' Society is the organized center of this new industry. 
Its objects are as follows: 

1. To secure for American farmers, laborers and capitalists the American market 
for American grown sugar, instead of having the American market supplied with the 
product of the highly protected and bounty-fostered beet sugar industry of Europe, or of 
the cane sugar industry of the cheap labor countries of Africa and the East. 

2. To put into the pockets of the American people the |100,000,000 now sent abroad 
annually for imported sugar— one billion dollars every ten years. A sum which within 
a dozen years or so may be $200,000,000 annually! 

3. To show the American people that this upbuilding of what is destined to be 
one of the greatest of American industries and one of the most beneficent to American 
agriculture, can be done without injustice to others and without unduly advancing prices 
to consumers, but so that the enormous sums now sent out of the country every year 
may be distributed among our own farmers and others engaged in cultivating the thou- 
sands of acres of sugar beets and cane, and in operating the hundreds of enormous fac- 
tories required to supply the people of the United States with sugar. 

4. These results to be aided by (1) appropriate tarrff legislation to offset foreign 
export bounties and to afford reasonable protection against foreign competition; by (2) 
maintaining the same duties against sugar from the tropics as from other countries, in 
the future as in the past, irrespective of the political relations of the East Indies or the 
West Indies to the United States; and (3) by whatever encouragement may be offered 
by the respective states and by localities that desire to secure sugar factories. 

5. In addition to these objects, the American Sugar Growers' Society, through its 
local and state organizations, will encourage farmers to become experts in beet and cane 
culture, will act as a medium through which capitalists and others who wish to start 
factories may reach localities that want factories, and will in every proper, reasonable 
and legitimate way do all in its power to promote the best development of our domestic 
sugar industry. The society will resist and try to prevent or circumvent any unjust 
action toward the industry that may be attempted by the sugar trust, and will do its 
utmost to secure for the growers of beets and cane the fullest measure of whatever help 
may be extended to the industry by state or nation. 



Officers of the American Sugar Growers' Society — President, R. M. Allen of Ames, 
Neb., president Nebraska Sugar Beet Growers' Association; first vice-president, 
Charles A. Farwell of New Orleans, La., president United States Cane Growers' Asso- 
ciation. Treasurer, Herbert Myrlck of 52 Lafayette Place, New York, president Orange 
Judd Company, and editor American Agriculturist of New York, and Orange Judd 
Farmer of Chicago, 111.; secretary, B. W. Snow, Marquette Building, Chicago, IlL, statis- 
tician Orange Judd Farmer. 



PARTIAL LIST OF PLACES TliAT WANT SUGAR FACTORIES. 



Many other communities, whose addresses there has not been time to compile, are also makins; efforts to obtain 
sugar mills. The persons named below are those identified with the movement at the localities named. 

Postoffice County Name PostoMce Counti/ Name 





ARIZONA. 


Phoenix 


Maricopa 


W. S. Devol 


Winslow 


Apache 


S. M. Folsom 
Greenfield, Mass. 




ARKANSAS. 


Olyphant 


Jackson 


C. B. Frizzell 


Fort Smith 


Sebastian 


H. Jbi. Hoover 


Fort Smith 


Sebastian 


S. A. Williams 


Rogers 


Benton 


H. B. WooQcock 




CALIFORNIA. 


Chine 


SanBernardinoValley Sugar Co 


Vacaville 


Solano 


E. G. Davis 


Napa 


Napa 


C. L. James 


Whe^itland 


Yuba 


E. E. Oakley 


Chico 


Butte 


J. McStilson 


Salinas 


Monterey 


James Bardin 


Fulton 


Sonoma 


A. Bannister 


Gridley 


Eutte 


L. K. Vaugham 


Los Angeles San BernardinoCo^umbia Colo- 




COLORADO. 


Mosca 


Costilla 


J. R. Patterson 


Rhone 


Mesa 


Henry R. Rhone 


Pueblo 


Pueblo 


Suburban Land & 
Investment Co 


Denver 


Arapahoe 


Lute Wilcox 


La Salle 


Weld 


R. W. Devinny 


Grand 
Junction 


Mesa 


C. E. Mitchell 




FLORIDA. 


De Funiak 
Springs 


Walton 


S. E. Wolf 


Ocoee 


Orange 


T. L. Joyce 


Auburndale 


Polk 


Irving Page 


St Cloud 


Osceola 


Col Allen Thomas 


Jacksonville Duval 


S. Powers 


Lake City 


Columbia 

IDAHO 


H. E. Stockbridge 


Payette 


Canyon 


Eugene Autz 


Leduc 


Blaine 


P. Leduc 




ILLINOIS. 


Alma 


Marion 


W. S. Ross 


Monterey 


Fulton 


D. W. Kelsey 


Litchfield 


Montgomery 


R. S. Nelson 


Niota 


Hancock 


Jacob Zeh 


Milford 


Iroquois 


I. D. Gillum 


Mt Carmel 


Wabash 


W. H. Wildey 


Chemung 


McHenry 


Joseph Kuhby 


Forest City Mason 


A. D. Brown 


Monmouth 


Warren 


C. E. Cornell 


Ottawa 


Lasalle 


C. E. Fisher 


Kankakee 


Kankakee 


Leon Hay 


Momence 


Kankakee 


Will Lewis 


Chemung 


McHenry 


Joseph Kuhler 


Nekoma 


Henry 


Robert Lapan 


Mulkeytown Franklin 


Scott Clark 


Havana 


Mason 


E. A. Wallace 


Buffalo Grove Lake 


J Weidner & Sons 


Polo 


Ogle 


J. N. Sanborn 


Ottawa 


Lasalle 


I. B. Lovejoy 


McHenry 


McHenry 


J. Van SiVKe 


Pittsfield 


Pike 


F. L. Shriver 



Jerseyville 
Metropolis 

City 
Morrison 
Galesburg 
Effingham 

Pekin 



County 
ILLINOIS (CONTINUED). 



Jersey 

Massac 

Whiteside 

Knox 

Effingham 

Tazewell 



INDIANA, 



Fort Wayne Allen 

Bluffton Wells 

Wabash Wabash 

Columbia Fayette 

Monroevllle Allen 
Aurora Dearborn 

Monroeville Allen 
Bluffton Wells 

Logansport Cass 
Elwood Maaison 

Laud Whitley 

Dana Vermilion 

Zionsville Boone 
Owensville Gibson 
Francesville Pulaski 
New Har- p 

mony -^ 

Morocco Newton 

Fort WayneAllen 
Liberty 
Madison 
Evansville 
Delphi 
Newcastle 
Lowell 
Columbus 
Seymour 
Vincennes 



A. W, Cross 

A. N. Starkea 

E. A. Smith 
Robert Chappel 
William Dyke 
111. Sugar Refin- 
ing Co 

Alexander John- 
son 
L. A. Williams 
S. Haas 
J. M. Harrison 

W. Dickerson 
J. Small 
N. R. Spaulding 
W. K. Shoemaker 
J. H. Barnhait 
W. E. Broyles 
Lewis Deems 
W. B. Hood 
J. W. Lane 
Levi Skelton 
W. Benson 

F. Mumford 
J. M. Rogers 
— _.. H. C. Rockhill 

Montgomery Ben Snyder 
Jefferson C. E. Cosby 



Vanderburg 
Carroll 
Henry 
Lake 



NorthJudson Starke 



C. Cordes 

V. L. Ricketts 

A. D. Ogborn 

„ J. Dinwiddle 

Bartholomew W. T. Stott 
Jackson J. H. Hodapp 

Knox Edward Watson 



Gr'd Junct'uGreene 
Wapello Louisa 

Diagonal 
Fontanelle 
Schaller 



Newell 
Spencer 
Greene 
Ames 
Dubuque 
Davenport 
Clinton 



Klnggold 

Adair 

Sac 

Buena Vista 

Clay 

Butler 

Story 

Dubuque 

Scott 

Clinton 



Cnarles City Floyd 
Fort Dodge Webster 
Muscatine Muscatine 
Waterloo Blackhawk 
Mason City Cerro Gordo 
Britt Hancock 

Keokuk Lee 

Casey Guthrie 

Waukon Allamakee 
Primghar O'Brien 
Le Mars Plymouth 
Des Moines Polk 
bidney Fremont 

(213^ 



Jacob Keller 



Mrs C. D. Park 
W. S. Kremer 
O. B. Overholser 

F. M. Daugherty 
E. W. Bennett 

J. Jenson 

J. C. Winset 

B. H. Beal 
James Wilson 
M. H. Moore 
Bus's Men's Ass'n 
S. M. Highlands 
J. W. Brown 

J. B. Butler 
W. G. Block 

C. P. Bratnober 

G. C. Winter 
Dr A. J. Cole 
Arthur H. Moody 
G. W. Osgood 

H. B. Teeple 
J. H. Wolf 
G. E. Richardson 
A. H. Meyer 
J. R. McKee 



214 



THE SUGAR INDUSTKY. 



Postojfice 



Humboldt 
N. Wicliita 
Indep'nd'nce 
Topeka 

Irving: 

EUinwood 

Oketo 

N. Topeka 

Topeka 

Paola 

lola 

Rosedale 

Leotl 

Salina 



Lexington 

Hopkinsvllle 

Valley Sfn 

Morganfield 

Carrollton 

Warsaw 

Hartford 

Cloverport 

Jackson 



Count}/ 

KANSAS, 
Allen 
Sedgwick 
Montgomery 

Shawnee 

Marshall 

Barton 

Marshall 

Shawnee 

Shawnee 

Miami 

Allen 

Wyandotte 

Wichita 

Saline 



Xame 



J. J. Amos 
S. F. Toler 
Mrs A. B. Clark 
Investment 
Trust Co 
Grant Ewing 
C. Kattenholm 
C. M. Knight 
W. E. Clark 
P. D. Coburn 
E. T. Ahrens 
C. F. Scott 
Henry Senecal 
J. G. Donnell 
L. A. Will 



KENTUCKY. 



Fayette 

Christian 

Jefferson 

Union 

Carroll 

Gallatin 

Ohio 

Breckinridge 

Breathitt 



B. M. Cole 
T. E. Elgin 

W. W. Moremen 

C. F. Hart 
O. M. Wood 

D. B. Wallace 
S. A. Anderson 
John D. Baggage 
T. M. Morrow 



LOUISIANA. 
New Iberia Iberia J. T. White 

Schriever Terrebonne J. T. Moore, Jr 
Crowley Acadia John P. Hoyt 

MASSACHUSETTS. 
Springfield Hampden Nathan D. Bill 



MICHIGAN. 



Niles Berrien 

Oak Wayne 

New Era Oceana 
Fenion Genesee 

White Cloud Newaygo 
Petoskey Emmet 
Port Huron St Clair 
Capac St Clair 

Mt Pleasant Isabella 
Charlotte Eaton 
Cranston Oceana 
Port Huron St Clair 
Millington Tuscola 
Yale St Clair 

Chevingston Sanilac 
Dearborn Wayne 
Roseburg Sanilac 
Kalamazoo Kalamazoo 
White CloudNewaygo 



Benton 



Berrien 



Harbor 

Port Huron St Clair 

St ignace Mackinac 

Alpena Alpena 
Mt Pleasant Isabella 

Hart Oceana 

Lapeer Lapeer 

Clare Clare 

Detroit Wayne 

Kalkaska Kalkaska 

Grayling Crawford 

Traverse Grand 

City Traverse 

Marshall Calhoun 

Ovid Clinton 

Ashton Oceola 

Pierson Montcalm 

Northville Wayne 

Mancelona Antrim 

Durand Shiawassee 

Shabbona Sanilac 

Galesburg Kalamazoo 

Clinton Lenawee 

Nadeau Menominee 



J. T. Barker 
J. C. Jackson 
J. E. Farnham 

F. A. Bosworth 
W. E. Fulkerson 
A. O. Jenne 
Cyrus Hovey 

S. C. Draper 
T. P. Collin 

G. M. Fenn 
E. Morrissey 
L. B. Rice 
W. J. Haines 
J. H. Merrill 
S. A. Hillman 
W. H. Manwell 
J. Aver 

J. E. Welborn 
M. D. Haywood 

i?. R. Gilson 

L. A. Sherman 
C. G. Cavanagh 
W. T. Sleator 
W. E. Preston 
J. D. S. Hanson 
S. D. Brown 
L. E. Davy 
Milton Carmichael 
A. E. Palmer 
R. Hanson 

Thomas T. Bates 

W. J. Gregg 
W. H. Faxon 
Wilson Showalter 
M. H. nolcomb 
Morris Lancaster 
Geo. Irwin 
H. D. Soule 
David Leslie 
James H. Wolf 
A. T. Kishpaugh 
G. T. Werline 



Postojflct 



County 



Namte 



MICHIGAN (CONTINUED). 



Willis Washtenaw 

Pigeon Huron 

Newaygo Newaygo 

Gaylord Otsego 
Sault de 

Sainte Chippewa 
Marie 

Cheboygan Cheboygan 

Saginaw Saginaw 

Grand HavenOttawa 
East Tawafe Iosco 
W. Bay CityBay 



C. E. Lord 
A. Kleinschmidt 
Will Courtright 
Charles Wyllys 

William Chandler 

jli. O. Penney 
R. F. Johnson 
Keorman & Zaag- 

man 
The Mavor 
S. O. Fisher 



Rush City 

Faribault 

Winona 

Madison 

Stockton 

Madison 

Dawson 

Hinckley 

Chaska 

St James 

Winona 

Northfield 

Cloquet 

Winona 

Belle Plaine 

Aitken 

Boyd 

Worthington 

Mankato 



Natchez 



MINNESOTA. 
Chisago J. S. McDonald 

Rice O. F. Brand 

Winona Max A. Goltz 

Lac Qui Parle P. K. Haslernd 
Winona Benj. Sherry 

Lac Qui Parle J. H. Guenther 
Lac Qui ParleA. J. Peterson 
Pine J. J. Folsom 

Carver F, E. Du Toit 

Watonwan F. B. Lynch 
Winona J. Slingerman 

Rice John Lawson 

Carlton Fred Vilbert 

Winona W. E. Walker 

Scott Peter Becker 

Aitken B. M. Hungerford 

Lac Qui ParleE. P. Johnson 
Nobles C. M, Crandall 

Blue Earth Chas. A. Chapman 

MISSISSIPPI. 
Adams C. B. Brownell 



MISSOURI. 



Linn S. H. Linton 

Saline H. F. Knapp 

Linn R, K. Kinney 

St Charles P. A. Edalin 

St Louis E. L. Kern 

Adair W. T. Baird 

Lewis C. W. Barrett 

Henry Commercial Club 

Montgomery Dr C. B. Faulconer 

Cooper John M. Humber 
MONTANA. 

Great Falls Cascade G. A. Gray 

Missoula Missoula Verdie Spurgin 

Chinook Choteau W. M. Wooldridge 



Marceline 

Malta bend 

Bucklin 

West Alton 

Ballwin 

Kirksville 

Canton 

Clinton 

Montgomery 

City 
Boonville 



Indianola 
Lincoln 
York 

Wakefield 
Ord 
Wayne 
Dorchester 
Callaway 
Sunflower 
Ainsworth 
Omaha 
Auburn 
Wayne 
Weeping 
Water 
Gibbon 
Redcloud 
Schuyler 
Brokenbow 
Neligh 
Dorp 

Wolfbor© 



NEBRASKA 
Redwillow J. S. Phelps 



Lancaster 

York 

Dixon 

Vaiiey 

Wayne 

Saline 

Custer 

Scotts BlufC 

Brown 

Douglas 

Nemaha 

Wayne 

Cass 



M. R. Moret 
L. M. Street 
S. P. Johnson 
T. S. Harris 
F. M. Northrop 
Frank Roop 
J. Reinhard 
C. H. Simmons 
C. W. Potter 
W. N. Nason 
W. H. Stowell 
F. A. Dearborn 

A. L. Timblin 



Buffalo 

Webster 

Colfax 

Custer 

Antelope 

Logan 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
Carroll S. Brummltt 



C. H. Winchester 
W. L. McMillan 
J. P. McCullough 
E. B. Purcell 
B. T. & C. J. Best 
Charles W. Parket 



APPENDIX. 



215 



Pottoffice 



County 

KEW JERSKY. 



Hams 



Postoffice 



Ckmnty 



Name 



Annandale Hunterdon 
Hainesburg Warren 
Stanton Hunterdon 

Passaic Passaic 

Glen Gardner Hunterdon 
High Bridge Hunterdon 
Blackwood Camden 



M. F. Gand 

E. O. "Ward 

Frank Bird 

O. Hepburn 

S. F. Bell 

J. H. Exton 

Charles F. Currie 



Sante Fe 

Las Cruces Donna Ana 

Maxwell CityColfax 

Raton Colfax 



NEW MEXICO. 

Santa Fe S. M. Folsom 



F. C. Barker 
E. S. Warren 
Maxwell Land 
Grant Co 



McLean 

Lansingville Tompkins 

Rensselaer 



Landing 
Brainard Rensselaer 
BennettsvlU Chenango 



NEW YORK. 
Tompkins B. L. Robertson 

W. J. Emmons 
J. W. Knicker- 
bocker 
J. D. Tompkins 
E. C. Ward 



Potsdam 

Earlville 

Bondville 

Akin 

Union 

Falconer 

Westbury 

Alabama 

Newark 



St Lawrence Harry H. Fay 



Madison 
Montgomery 



G. H. Clark 

L. W. Griswold 



Montgomery J. K. Mosher 



Broome 

Chautauqua 

Cayuga 

Genesee 

Wayne 



W Henrietta Monroe 
Middlebury Schoharie 
Stockton Chautauqua 
GlOYersfield Fulton 
Port Byron Cayuga 
New York New York 
Fonda Montgomery 

Cobleskill Schoharie 
E Schuyler Herkimer 
Nichols Tioga 

Burnt Hills Saratoga 
Evans Mills Jefferson 
Lyons Falls Lewis 
Fairport Monroe 
Sterling Cayuga 

North Chili Monroe 
Oswego Oswego 



E. K. Mersereau 
M. A. Sealy 
J. M. Shotwell 
H. J. Williams 
P. W. Stuart & Co 
W. S. Dunn 
W. E. Bassler 
P. M. Elmer 
W. H. Warren 
S. D. Gutchess 
M. Griffith & Co 
J. H. Beareroft 
A. B. Borst 
Jno. Collins, Jr 
G. A. IngersoU 
S. Russell Jones 
Jerome Hibbard 
C. C. Merriam 
J. McMillan 
J. B. McFadden 
G. A. Osmun 
Byron Worden 
J. A. Fraleigh 
W. H. Hicks 
Lewis Curtis 
I. P. Roberts 
David B. Lent 
John Reidy 
ii,d The Times 



Red ±iook Dutchess 

Phelps Ontario 

Ridgeland Monroe 

Ithaca Tompkins 

Batavia Genesee 

Morrisville Madison 

Watertown Jefferson 

Potsdam St Lawrence E. J. Eastman 

Binghamton Broome E. F. Jones 

Falconer Chautauqua 

Trumansburg Tompkins 

Texas Valley Cortland 

Clinton Oneida 

Collins Erie 

Erin Chemung 

Amityville Suffolk 

Wells Bridge Otsego 

PoolvlUe Madison 

Yates Orleans 

Binghamton Broome 

Afton Chenango 

Lewis Essex 

Brookfield Madison 

East Elma Erie 

Unionsville Orange 

Johnston Orange 



NORTH DAKOTA (CONTINUED). 
Larlmore Grand Forks T. C. Bruyere 
Deviis Lake Ramsey Wm. H. Brown 

Mandan Morton R. M. Tuttle 

Lisbon Ransom R. T. Adams 

OHIO. 
Canton Stark 

Caledonia Marion 
Prospect Marion 

Bloomingbury Fayette 
Covington Miami 
Napoleon ilenry 
Gr'd Rapids Wood 
Defiance Defiance 

Dunkirk Hardin 

Chillicothe Ross 



Mad River Clark 

New Phila- Tusoarawa.! 

delphia luscarawas 

Cleveland Cuyahoga 

Hillsboro Highland 

Quincy Logan 

Smithville Wayne 

Delta Fulton 

Wauseon Full on 

Herring Allen 

Urbana Champaign 

Coshocton Coshocton 

Danbury Ottawa 

N Bavaria Henry 

Antwerp Paulding 

Clyde Sandusky 

Leipsic Putnam 

Pleusaiii Hill Miami 

Brunswick Medina 

Utica Licking 

Granville Lici>.ing 

Aivron Summit 
Canal DoverTuscarawas 

Creston Wayne 

Ravenna Portage 

Sandusky Erie 



A. D. Warren 

E. A. Hawks 
Elihu Sweet 
J. H. Dodge 

F. J. Quigley 
Leon E. Goodrich 
T. W. C. Du Puy 
A. D. Bunch 

G. M. Bronson 
E. H. Parsons 
I. E. Rogers 
Geo. B. BMrphdorf 
R. T. Moran 
M. L. Fisk 
Mrs Jas. Hopper 
Clevel'd Cider Co 
Isaiah Yarmey 



NORTH CAROLINA. 
Sidney Beaufort W. N. Archbell 

NORTH DAKOTA. 

Bismarck Burleigh J. A. Field 

Hawkinson Richland R. A. Tyson 



Crayon 
Delta 



Champaign 
Fulton 



''ll^f^''- Wyandot 
Paulding 
Medina 
Crawford 
Henry 
Belmont 
Union 



Paulding 

Medina 

Bucyrus 

Deshler 

Flushing 

Jerome 

Middle 

Branch 
Madisonburg Wayne 
Columbiana Columbiana 
Hector Putnam 



StarK 



H. A. Cavnah 
L. J. Russell 

E. G. Stockman 
L. Eggleston 
Z. F. Albaugh 
J. C. Davis 
Azor Thurston 
J. O. Wissler 

D. F. Fryer 
James A. Wood 
C. B. Grain 

( S. F. Sweitzer 
( Dr. H. Troendly 
J. F. Kilby 
W. G. Richards 
J. M. Sulliva* 
J. W. Buchanan 
M. S. Sargent 

F. H. Kelsey 

E. 1^. Lurbin 
J. Harlzter 
W. Burns 
H. Bredbeck 
J. A. L. Derr 
W. F. Fleck 
H. G. Gibbons 
J. A. Hummon 
Nathan Hill 
Anton Leister 
W. W. Reynolds 
W. H. Williams 

F. A. Wilcox 
J. A. .v^agner 
J. South 

J. H. Evans 
J. Jarecki, Jr 
B. F. Long 
M. S. Sargent 

S. A. Cunea 

J. R. Ross 
F. H. Leach 
Ev'n'g Telegraph 
J. C. H. Elder 
James Parks 
H. Riebel 

F. E. Immel 

B. A. Hoffman 
Albert Sample 
W. L. Millspaugh 



OKLAHOMA. 



Pawnee 



Pawnee 



Forest Grove 

Corvallis 

Newberg 

Portland 

Lebanon 

Myrtle Creek 

Monitor 

Oakland 

Knappa 

Myrtle Creek 

Tigardville 



Washington 

Benton 

Yamhill 

Multnomah 

Linn 

Douglas 

Marion 

Douglas 

Clatsop 

Douglas 

Washington 



H. E. Hollinars- 
worth 



A. Buxton 
L. Walker 

F. A. Morris 

G. A. Cooper 
J. S. Hughes 
P. T. McGee 
J. R. White 
O. G. Estes 
C. Borglund 
Henry Trower 
E. G. Godman 



PENNSYLVANIA. 

New Castle Lawrence Kirk & Smith 

Lancaster Lancaster J. Bosler, Jr 

Roland Center H. R. Curtin 



216 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Poitojflce 



Oimnty 



Name 



PENNSYLVANIA (CONTINUED). 



Falls Creek 
Salem 
Wetona 
Prichard 
Gregory 
Penns Manor 
Meadville 
Coplay 
Littletown 
Butler 
New Brighton 
Lanesboro 
Carlisle 
Schuylkill 
Haven 



Clearfield 

Snyder 

Bradford 

Luzerne 

Luzerne 

Bucks 

Crawford 

Lehigh 

Adams 

Butler 

Beaver 

Susquehanna 

Cumberland 

Schuylkill 



Amos Goss 

C. Miller 

D. Tracy 

W. W. Prichard 
R. A. Van Horn 
A. R. Ellis 
A. W. Williams 

E. H. Tate 

D. B. Alleman 
I. McJunkin 

R. McLaughlin 
J. A. Taylor 
Frank Bosler 

E. L. Thomas 



SOUTH DAKOTA. 
Mitchell Davison O. L. Branson 

Yankton Yankton J. W. Hanson 



TENNESSEE. 



Chattanooga 
Greenfield 

Nashville 

Gainesville 
Sugar Land 
Crockett 
Howe 



Hamilton 
Weakley 

Davidson 

Cooke 
Fort Bend 
Houston 
Grayson 



S. W. Divine 
T. C. Phillips 
Col J. B. Kille- 

brew 
P. A. Galigher 
Col Cunningham 
W. C. Lipscomb 
Mrs H. Pomeroy 



UTAH. 



Logan Foster 

S'lt Lake City Salt Lake 
Riverton Salt Lake 
Leamington Millard 
Hooper Weber 

Spanish Fork Utah 
Springville Utah 



Luther Foster 

E. G. Rognon 

T. P. Page 

B. P. Textorius 

R. C. Christensen 

R. P. Snell 

J. M. Westwood 



VIRGINIA. 
Riverton Warren R. McCoy 

Buena Vista Rockbridge A. T. Barclay 
City Point Prince George R. Eppes 
Staunton Augusta O. K. Lapham 

Emporia Greenville H. W. Weiss 

Richmond Henrico R. A. Dunlop 

Irvington Lancaster W. McDonald Lee 

WASHIITGTON. 
Spokane P. E. Elmendorf 



Spokane 
Whitman 



W hitman 



F. A. English 



Postojgice 



County 



Name 



■WASHINGTON (CONTINUED). 
Pasco Franklin A. A. Batcheller 

Touchet Wallawalla A. Farnsworth 

Waupaca Waupaca G. W. Ogden 

Juno Chehalis J. D. Schaefer 

WEST VIRGINIA. 



Alderson Monroe 
Wolf Creek Monroe 
Old Fields Hardy 
Clarksburg Harrison 
Berryville Kenosha 
Huntington Cabell 



H. T. Houston 

G. T. Leatherman 

A. L. Miller 

T. Patton 

W. Braid 

A. J. Beardsley 



Waupaca 

Scandinavia Waupaca 
Cedarburg Ozaukee 
Evansville Rock 
Augusta Eau Claire 

Brillion Calumet 

New Holstein Calumet 
Black Wolf Winnebago 
Markesau Green Lake 
Salem Kenosha 

Barnum Crawford 

Schofield Marathon 
Burnett S't'nDodge 
Trevor Kenosha 

Stoughton Dane 
Bear Creek Outagamie 
Winchester Winnebago 
Merrillan Jackson 



Madison 

Neilsville 

Arkansaw 

Durand 



Beaverdam Dodge 
Merrillan Jackson 



Marinette 

Barron 

Kewaunee 

Sumner 

Manawa 



''^n^t^^"^^- 0-"k- 



WISCONSIN. 
Waupaca Frank Gruner 

C. H. Anderson 
T. Waipin 
H. L. Austin 
E. J. Frear 
E. G. Fuller 
A. A. Paulsen 
C. F. Hart 
W. T. Robinson 
E. N. Ripley 
J. M. Brownlee 
T. W. Clark 
H. Lawrence 
J. M. Orbis 
O. J. Olson 
J. J. Weid 
O. H. Hanson 
W. A. Marr 
W. A. Henry 
L. B. Ring 
Fred Pittman 
Ingram & Good- 
rich 
H. R. Hawley 
R. ri. Gile 
W. C. Campbell 
C. C. Coe 
A. C. Voshart 
Walter Marsden 
Jas. r'lanagan 

Geo. H. Crowns 



Dane 
Clark 
Pepin 

Pepin 



Marinette 

Barron 

Kewaunee 

Jefferson 

Waupaca 



Hillsboro Vernon G. A. Cressy 

Wausau Marathon T. W. Clark 

WYOMING. 
Cheyenne Laramie Elwood Meaa 



Appendix Tables, 



Table A. — operations of the dinoley tariff. 

Imports of sugar into the United States for fiscal years ended June 30. 



Raw beet sugar, dutiable, 
Raw cane sugar, free. 
Raw cane sugar, dutiable, 

Total, 
Refined, 

Aggregate, 
Free of duty, 
Dutiable, 



In millions of pounds. v 

1898 1897 1895 

141 1,866 347 

a499 a431 M,064 

1,948 2,423 2,104 



—Values in mils of dols.— > 

1898 1897 1895 

3 34 7 

17 13 28 

38 47 40 



2,588 4,720 


3,515 


58 


94 


75 


101 199 


58 


2 


5 


2 


2,689 4,919 


3.573 


61 


99 


76 


499 431 


1,127 


16 


13 


30 


2,190 4,488 


2,447 


44 


86 


47 


[es 274 million lbs of Hawaiian. 









WHERE THIS IMPORTED RAW SUGAR CAME FROM. 



In millions of pounds. 



IMPORTS FROM EUROPE. 



United Kingdom, 

Austria-Hungary, 

Belgium, 

Germany, 

Netherlands, 

Other Europe, 

British North America, 

Total, 



1898 1897 1895 

16 74 29 

1 93 

— 130 
138 1,511 

2 25 

— 65 
1 1 



5 

24 

302 



30 

158 1,899 398 

IMPORTS FROM COUNTRIES TO THE SOUTH OF US. 

Central American States, 

Mexico, 

British West Indies, 

Brazil, 

Other South America, 

Cuba, 

Other West Indies, 

Total, 



5 

3 

233 

148 
)92 
440 
203 



1 

322 
141 
243 
576 
235 



1 

3 
171 
180 
120 

986 
308 



FROM THE YELLOW RACES. 



China, 

East Indies, 

Hawaii, 

Philippines, 

Other Asia and Oceanica, 

Africa, 

Total, 



Europe, 

Countries to the south of us. 

Oriental and Africa, 





1898 


1897 


1895 
3 

289 




610 


645 




500 


431 


274 




29 


72 


69 


lanica. 


— 


— 


27 




64 


150 


3 








.^_ 




1,203 


1,298 


665 


SUMMARY. 









158 1,899 398 
1,224 1.518 1,769 
1,203 1,298 665 



1,224 1,518 1,769 



Table B.— dingley tariff rates compared. 



TTITITED STATES. 

1861, 6 cents per pound, 

1862, 4 cents per pound, 
1864, 5 cents per pound, 
1870, 4 cents per pound, 
1874, 5 cents per pound, 

1883, 2% to 31/3 cents per pound, 



♦present duties imposed by other countries. 
Germany, 3.9 to 4.75Icents per pound, 
Austria-Hungary, 2.7 to 3.7 cents per pound, 
Belgium, 3.9 to 4.4 cents per pound, 
Holland, 4.93 cents per pound, 
Russia, 4.30 to 5.72 cents per poun(^ 
Italy, 7.7 to 8.7 cents per pound. 



1890, 1/26 duty, bounty on domestic sugar, 2c per lb, Spain, 6.22 cents on foreign, 
1894, 40 per cent ad valorem, equal to % to leper lb, Spain, 2.94 cents on colonial, 
1897, IVa to 1.95 cents per pound, France, 5.3 to 6.3 cents per pound, 

Bulgaria, 4 cents per pound. 

The highest figures for the United States are for refined sugar, but raws constitute the bulk of im- 
ports. In the figures for foreign countries the smaller amount is for raw and the larger amount for 
refined sugar. Most of the European countries pay an export bounty equal to from 27 to 64 cents per 100 
pounds, but these are offset for the United States by extra countervailing duties precisely similar iu 
amount, according to tlie Dingley act of July 27, '97. Bulgaria offers a bounty of 4 cents on every pound 
of sugar produced therein for ten years in addition to a duty of 4 cents ver poimd. 

* As compiled lor this book from the latest tariffs on file at Department of State, Washington, Dec. 
27, 1898, by Michael Scanlan, acting chief of bureau of foreign commerce. 

(217) 



218 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Table C— the suqar^trade of the united states. 

The figures for domestic production are from Willett & Gray's Sugar Statistical, the acknowledged 
authority, and were especially compiled by tliem for this work. Tlie domestic crop each year is manu- 
factured into sugar between August and February of tlie succeeding year. Hence, the figiires are for 
the crop grown in tlie first year named in the first column, while the imports are for the fiscal year 
ended the June 30 following. Adding tlie domestic production and imports gives the total supply of 
Bugar, from which tlie consumption per capita is estimated. The wholesale value of imported sugar is 
given as reported by the United States treasury department, whose official figures of quantities of 
imports are also used. The average value per pound of "fair refining" sugar each year is given in the 
last column. This, multiplied by the pounds of domestic sugar produced, gives the estimated wiiole- 
sale value of the American product, though the figures are probably too higli. This, added to the value 
Of imported sugar, gives the total wholesale value of the sugar consumed in the United States each year. 

[In long tons of 2,240 pounds, as used in the sugar trade.] 



Fiscal 












U. S. Con- 










Years. 


Domestic Production. 


Imports. 


Total. 


8umptiou 


Wholesale Value. Value. 


July 1 to 


Cane. 


Beet. 


Total. : 


Foreign sugar. Supply. 


Per capita. Imp. 


Dom. 


Total. Average. 


June 30. 


Tons. 


Tons. 


Tons. 


Tons. 


Tons. 


Pounds. ] 


Million dollars. 


Dollars. Per lb. 


1880-81 


92,802 


500 


93.302 


869,082 


962,384 


44 


83.4 


15.8 


$99,200,000 


7.58 


1881-82 


127,367 


500 


127,867 


888,416 


1,016,283 


48 


84.4 


21.8 


106,200,000 


7.62 


1882-83 


76,373 


500 


76,873 


954,316 


1,031,189 


51 


84.3 


12.5 


96,800,000 


7.25 


1883-84 


142,297 


535 


142.832 


1,230,543 


1,373,375 


51 


98.3 


21.5 


119,800,000 


6.76 


1884-85 


135,243 


953 


136,196 


1,213,341 


1,349,537 


52 


72.6 


16.1 


88,700,000 


5.27 


1885-86 


100,876 


600 


101,476 


1,200,840 


1,302,316 


53 


80.8 


11.4 


92,200,000 


5.02 


1886-87 


135,158 


800 


135,958 


1,400,108 


1,536,066 


53 


78.5 


14.9 


93,400,000 


4.88 


1887-88 


85,394 


255 


85,649 


1,205,484 


1,291,133 


67 


74.3 


9.0 


83,300,000 


4.70 


1888-89 


1G7.814 


1,910 


169,724 


1,233,122 


1,402,846 


53 


88.6 


19.2 


107,800,000 


5.05 


1889-90 


153,909 


2,600 


156,509 


1,309,822 


1,466,331 


53 


96.2 


20.1 


116,300,000 


5.73 


1890-91 


136,503 


2,800 


139,303 


1,555,123 


1,694,426 


66 


95.1 


15.7 


110,800,000 


5.01 


1891-92 


221,951 


5,359 


227,310 


1,587,728 


1,815,038 


64 


104.1 


17.2 


121,300,000 


3.37 


1892-93 


165,437 


12,091 


177,528 


1,486,656 


1,664,184 


64 


116.2 


11.5 


127,400,000 


2.81 


1893-94 


235,886 


20,453 


256,339 


1,939,818 


2,196,157 


67 


126.7 


18.4 


135,100,000 


3.20 


1894-95 


271,336 


20,443 


291,889 


1,595,808 


1,887,697 


64 


75.0 


16.9 


91,900,000 


2.60 


1895-96 


324,506 


30,000 


354,506 


1,739,313 


2,093,819 


63 


89.2 


23.2 


102,400,000 


2.92 


1896-97 


282,000 


40,000 


322,000 


2,195,940 


2,517,940 


77 


99.1 


28.9 


128,000,000 


2.29 


1897-98 


310,000 


41,347 


351,347 


1,200,361 


1,551,708 


— 


60.5 


31.5 


102,000,000 


2.93 


1898-99 


270,000 


50,000 


320,000 


— 


— 


— 


— 


31.0 


— 


— 


Total, 


3,434,852 


231,646 


3,646,608 


24,805,821 


29,252,297 




1607.3 


356.3 


1,922,600,000 





Table D.— beet sugar factories in the united states. 



In operation prior to the Wilson tariff of 1894. 



Name and location. 



Establ'h'd 
or first 

campaign. 

1870 Alameda Sugar Co., Alvarado, Cal., 

1888 Western Beet Sugar Co., Watsonville, Cal., 

1890 Oxnard Beet Sugar Co., Grand Island, Neb., 

1891 Utah Sugar Co., Lehi, Utah, 

1891 Norfolk Beet Sugar, Norfolk, Neb., 
1891 Chino Valley B. S. Co., Chino, Cal., 



Capital Daily Beets re- Pays for beets 

invested capacity quired for 100 each year at 



(about) tons beets 



1897 
1897 
1897 



1898 
1898 
1898 
1898 
1898 
1898 



$700,000 

1,000,000 

350,000 

500,000 

400.000 

1,000,000 



800 
1,000 
350 
500 
400 
1,000 



days run 
80,000 

a 100,000 

35,000 

50,000 

40,000 

100,000 



3,950,000 4,050 

In operation in 1897, the above and 

First" New York B. S. Co., Rome, N. Y., 300,000 350 

Los Alamitos Sugar Co., Los Alamitos, Cal., 750,000 800 

Pecos Valley B. S. Co., Eddy, N. M., 300,000 350 

1,350,000 1,500 

In operation in 1898 (under Dingley tariff of July 27, 1897) the above and 



Binghamton B. S. Co., Binghamton, N. Y., 
Oregon B. S. Co., La Grande, Oregon, 
Mieliigan Stigar Co., Bay City, Mich., 
Minnesota Sugar Co., .St. Louis Park, Minn., 
Ogden Sugar Co., Ogden, Utah, 
Calitornia B. S. Co., Crockett, Cal., 



a50 

400 
350 
350 
350 
7e 1,000 



2.800.000 2,800 




: per ton 

$320,000 

d 400,000 

140,000 

200,000 

160,000 

6400,000 



405,000 


1,620,000 


35,000 
80,000 
35,000 


Cl40,000[ 
e 320.000. 
d 140,000 

1 


150,000 


600,000 


bove and 




35,000 
40,000 
35,000 
35,000 
35,000 
100,000 


140,000 
160,000 
C 140,000 
140,000 
140,000 
. 400,000 



280,000 



1,140,000 



APPENDIX. 



219 



To be in operation in 1899, the foregoing and certainly 



1897 Spreckels Sugar Co., Spreckels, Cal., 

1898 Pacific Sugar Co., Oxnard, Cal., 

1899 Nortljwesteru B. S. Co., Merrillan, Wis., 
1899 Caro B. S. Co., Caro, Midi., 

1899 New factory near Bay City, Mich., 

1888 Union Sugar Co., Betterravia, Cal, 



2,500,000 

2,000,000 

350,000 

350,000 

600,000 

1,000,000 



3,000 

£72,000 

350 

350 

700 

1,000 



6,800,000 7,400 



/300,000 

200,000 

35,000 

35,000 

70,000 

"100,000 

740,000 



1,200,000 
800,000 
Cl40,000 
C 140,000 
c 240,000 
400,000 

2,920,000 



SUMMARY. 



Operating prior to 1894, 
New factories in 1897, 
New factories in 1898. 
Building same for 1899, 

Total to operate in 1899, 
New factories for 1900, 



6 factories 
3 factories 
6 factories 
6 factories 

21 factories 
29 factories 



4,000,000 
1,300,000 
2,500,000 
6,300,000 

14,100,000 
19,900,000 



4,000 
1,500 
2,500 
7,400 

15,400 
22,600 




1,600,000 

600,000 

1,000,000 

3,000,000 

6,200,000 
9,000,000 



Probable operations of 1900 50 factories 34,000,000 38,000 3,800,000 15,200,000 

a This mill ran 170 days in the campaign of 96, working up 155,000 tons of beets. It paid $700,000 for 
beets in '94, and $613,000 in '96. b Cbino paid $420,000 for '97 beets. c A state bounty equal to $1 per 
ton of beets enables these mills lo pay $5 a ton, thus increasing this sum 25%. d Tliis total has not 
yet been reached. eThis mill was built for 350 tons daily but with room enough to put in the ma- 
chinery necessary to increase to 700 or 800 tons, which will probably be done in time for the 1899 crop. 
/TWe Spreckels mill will be able to work up over 400,000 tons of beets in a successful campaign, g Its 
equipment for '99 will handle 1000 tons per diem, but a duplicate set of machinery, now going in, will 
double its capacity. h This is the probable capacity for 1898. 



Table E.— customs revenue for sugar and tobacco, with total imports of all kinds. 



Compiled from monthly summary finance and commerce of the United States for'October, 1897. 
The sugar includes botli free and dutiable. Tobacco is mostly cigar leaf, wrappers and fillers, imports 
of manufactured (cigars) running from 2 to 4 millions of dollars' worth per year. 





Total 




value of 




imports. 


1898 


$61,043,852 


1897 


111,401,987 


1896 


84,347,222 


1895 


69,028.952 


1894 


128,613,840 


1893 


118,222,027 


1892 


107,563,089 


1891 


115,913,081 


1890 


99.131,561 


1889 


95,244,932 


1888 


79,207,024 


1887 


83,489,677 


1886 


85,897,878 


1885 


81,705,128 


1884 


101,504,220 



Sugar.- 



Duties 
collected 
on same. 

$29,478,938 

41,328,265 

29,888,312 

15,589,341 

250,763 

163,956 

76,705 

32,468,218 

55,150,819 

55,756,209 

51,988,003 

58,004,359 

51,766.923 

52,175,140 

48,913,032 





^ Aggregate for all imports 






In millions 


of dollars. 


Total 


Duties 


Total imports. 


Duties 


value of 


collected 


free and 


collected 


imports. 


on same. 


dutiable. 


on same. 


$8,225,483 


$9,916,183 


587 


145 


18,782,759 


20,971,883 


789 


172 


13,625,268 


14,859,117 


760 


156 


13,672,464 


14,916,306 


731 


148 


11,289,511 


13,668,907 


637 


129 


12,589,004 


14,831,990 


844 


198 


10,150,634 


10,265,068 


814 


173 


21,065,863 


16,172,277 


855 


216 


16,626,045 


13,317,368 


774 


225 


13,733,913 


11,914,487 


741 


219 


12,314,429 


9,734,987 


712 


214 


10,955,125 


9,127,758 


683 


212 


10,315,311 


8,311,114 


625 


188 


9,121,869 


7,356.369 


580 


177 


8,697,751 


6,945,652 


668 


190 



Table F.— the beet-sugar industry in Germany. 

The following table from The Sugar Beet gives in condensed form information concerning the bee* 
industry of Germany. It shows a production about equal to total annual imports of sugar into th® 
United States. As Saylor suggests, therefore, this table is of special importance as sliowing abou* 
what would be the condition of tlie industry in the United States were it establislied to the extent of 
producing all the sugar required for home consumption. 

CONDENSED DATA CONCERNING THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY OF GERMANY, 1892-1895. 



Factories working, 

Number of steam engines, 

Total horse power. 

Total beers worked (tons), 

Total area devoted to beets (acres), 

Average yield of beets per acre (tons), 



1894-95 

405 

5,324 

94,952 

14,526,030 

1,098,465 

12.8 



1893-94 


1892-93 


405 


401 


5,256 


5,122 


87,424 


81,596 


10,644,352 


9,811,940 


987,723 


880,000 


10.9 


11.7 



230 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Raw sugar extracted. 



From beets in factories, 

From molasses (special factories), 

From molasses in refineries, 

Total raw sugar, 
Per cent extraction fi"om beets worked. 
Per cent extraction, including the work of molasses. 
Yield of sugar per acre (pounds), 

Weight of beets required to produce 100 lbs raw sugar (pounds). 
Molasses per 100 pounds beets worked (pounds), 
Total molasses extracted (tons), 
Consumption of sugar per capita (pounds), 



Tons. 


Tons. 


Tons. 


1,769,331 


1,319,006 


1,175,137 


61,447 


55,165 


48,925 


4,396 


1,427 
1,375,598 


500 


1,835,174 


1,224,562 


12.17 


12.36 


11.98 


12.64 


12.92 


12.48 


3,514 


3,149 


3,276 


822 


809 


835 


2.4 


2.63 


2.54 


347.125 


279,757 


?46,272 


23.5 


20.2 


26.78 



The chief results of the campaign of 1897-98 in Germany as compared with that of 1896-97, taken 
from the official statistics, follow (2,224 lbs per ton): 

1897-98 1896-97 

Factories in operation, 402 399 

Refineries in operation, 50 51 

Cultivated area, acres, 1,080,256 1,049,456 

Beets worked, tons, 13,697,891 13,721,601 

Tonnage per acre, 12.22 12.83 
Sugar production, based on 

raw sugar, tons, 1,844,399 1,821,223 

Sugar in beets, per cent, 12.79 12.66 

Sugar per acre, lbs, 3,763 3,851 





1897-98 


1896-97 


Imports, tons. 


1,298 


1,532 


Exports, tons, 


1,087,049 


1,310,713 


Domestic consumption, tons, 


708,237 


561,889 


Consumption per capita, lbs, 


25.9 


20.2 


Consumption tax. 


$32,626,230 


$29,643,148 


Import duty. 


$105,910 


$142,8W) 


Export bounty, 


$8,724,842 


$5,083,756 


Net profit. 


$24,007,208 $21,702,192 



Table G.— world sugar statisticts. 



AREAS TTNDER SUGAB BEETS IN COUNTRIES NAMED 
[In thousands of acres.J 



Cam- Ger- Aus- Rus- 
paign. many.Hung. sia. 

1884-85 781 645 788 

1885-86 578 341 808 

1886-87 684 507 731 

1887-88 652 415 623 

1888-89 692 534 662 

1889-90 739 675 638 

1890-91 813 739 726 

1891-92 830 810 736 

1892-93 870 818 689 

1893-94 954 865 741 

1894-95 1,090 929 830 

1895-96 917 714 855 

Av 12 yrs, 801 667 736 



Fran'e, 

368 
79 
385 
398 
425 
509 
549 
551 
539 
544 
583 
492 
469 



Bel- Hol- 
gium.laud. 



49 
86 
86 
99 
124 
128 
133 
121 
141 
175 
141 
114 



52 
40 
44 
47 
49 
62 
72 
52 
59 
67 
84 
82 
59 



Tot. 

2,713 
2,095 
2,439 
2,224 
2,464 
2,745 
3,027 
3,113 
3,094 
3,311 
3,694 
3,202 
2,847 



WORLD' 

Season. 

1887-88 
1888-89 
1889-90 
1890-91 
1891-92 
1892-93 
1893-94 
1894-95 
1895-96 
1896-97 



S SUGAR PRODUCTION Uf 



Beet. 

2,407,000 
2,708,000 
3,563,000 
3,640,000 
3,445,000 
3.344,000 
3,786,000 
4,691,000 
4,232,000 
4,773,000 



Cane. 
2,541,000 
2,359,000 
2,138,000 
2,597,000 
2,785,000 
2,769,000 
3,260,000 
3,137,000 
2,556,000 
2,432,000 



TONS. 

Total. 

4,948,000 
5,067,000 
5,701,000 
6,237,000 
6,230,000 
6,113,000 
7,046,000 
7,828,000 
6,788,000 
7,204,000 



From the French technical journal, Le Jour- 
nal des Fabricantes de Sucre. It will be seen the 
world's production has increased from less than 
5,000,000 tons 10 years ago, to nearly 8,000,000 tons in 
tlie season of 1894-95. Tlie falling off since the date 
last named is due in part to the crop distuEb- 
aece in Cuba. 



ANNOUNCEMENT. 



The Oxnard Construction Company devotes itself to developing the sugar growing 
and manufacturing industry in this country. The officers of the Company are : 
HENRY T. OXNARD, President. 
JAMES G. HAMILTON, Vice President. 
W. BAYARD CUTTING, Treasurer. 
S. D. SCHENCK, Secretary. 
WILHELM BAUR, Chief Executive Officer and Consulting Engineer. 

This Company has its main office in New Yorlc City, at 32 Nassau street. The 
aim of the Company is to assist in every way the development of the sugar industry 
in this country. 

Its agricultural department will thoroughly investigate questions of climate and 
soil and will give directions in growing beets, cane, etc., also testing beets, water, soil, 
and all supplies necessary for the process of sugar making. All investigations are 
made by expert agriculturists, familiar with the raising of sugar plants in this country. 

The construction department undertakes the entire building of factories complete 
in every respect, and will be prepared to guarantee their capacity. The Company is 
able to undertake the full equipment of a newly built factory with the necessary 
officers and men, and will run the factory, if desired, for the first year. 

It is, in fact, a headquarters of general information, and invites consultation on 
all questions concerning the industry. Its work is done only by men of high experi- 
ence and responsibility. The industry of sugar producing is comparatively a new one 
in this country, and only a few people are familiar with it. Therefore it is one of the 
best features of this Company, that it will not only furnish the necessary machinery, 
seed, etc., but also the experienced men who will assist in planting and raising the 
crop and in manufacturing the sugar. 

The names of the officers are a sufficient guarantee of the ability of the Company 
to do its work. Mr. Oxnard and his brothers have been successfully connected during 
their lives with the production and manufacture of sugar in this country. Mr. 
Hamilton has been secretary of various sugar factories since they have been in exist, 
ence. Mr. Baur has been 20 years in the sugar business in this country, and is also 
very familiar with the business abroad. 



C2211 



INDEX. 



Agricultural experiment stations, list of 128 

Alanieda sugar company 32,43,109,172 

Alkali land for beets 172 

Allen, president, R. M 43, 120 

Alvarado (Cal.) factory 32,43, 109, 172 

American beet sugar manufacturers' ass'n 34 

American sugar refining company 1 

American tool and macniue company 161 

Armsby, director 156 

Author's preface V 

Batteries for building 157, 163, 186 

Bauer, chief engineer. 178 

Bay City (Mich.) factory 15, 198 

Beet forms illustrated: 

badly trimmed 101 

cross section 76, 137 

mature beet 103 

poorly shaped 75 

pronerly trimmed 101 

typical 32,75,77,183 

Beet growers, contracts with 205-210 

Beet growers, actual experiences of 122-125 

Beet growing: 

alkali lands for m 

a profitablecrop 10, 120 

climatic conditions 73 

contracts with growers 205-210 

cost of growing 119-125,183-188 

cross-section of beet 7t), 137 

culture, mistaken ideas in 171, 191 

Uryingl)eets 107 

farnifrs' experiences In raising 122-125 

first efforts 31 

harvesting 100-103,151,180 

hauling to factory 102 

irrigation 96-100,191 

moisture, how lost from beets 103 

payment to labor 125 

payment to farmers for beets 44, 4S, 200 

pests of the beet 112-114 

plant close together 90 

price of beets ■ 126 

pulp of l)eets for stock feed 108, 192, 194 

root shape, on what dependent 94 

roots, how injured 100 

rotation 78, 178 

samples, how to take.... 196 

seeding 88, 14h 

sowing 1™ 

storing 104-108,113,117, 151 

thinning and hoeing 92,95,96, 150, 151, 180, 183 

topping 100.180 

trimming 151 

typical beets 32,75,77, 101, 183 

varieties 74 

Beet leaves, best use for. 80 

Beet-plant food: 

lime; magnesia; nitrogen; potash and phosphoric 

aeid; stable manure 80 

Beet pulp, animal food in 108 

Beet pulp for stock feed 108, 192, 1H4 

Beet imlp, storing 109, 194 

Beetsample , how to take 1"6 

Beets, cost of growing 119-125,183-188 

Beet seed growers, professional 116 

Beet seed process of Dippe Bros , 116 

Beet seed production 114-118, 196 

Beet sugar: 

advantages of the industry 13b 

brilliant opening for capital 136 

cautions to beginners 137-140 

how made •••• 4o 

expenses and proceeds 120, 121 

production (by years) 38 

quality 40 

world's production o 

Beet sugar Industry, advantages of 1,136 

Beet sugar, labor in iiroducing 125 

Beet sugar factory, how to build 132 

Beet sugar production, economics of: 

Congress recognized possibilities 2 

Dinglev tariff • • jj 

Doiiiestic sugar vs. expansion 7-io 

Hawaiian imposition l-j 

Reasons for first failures 4 

Situation at opening of 1899 1 

Vitalitv of this industry * 

What the iudttstry means to the U. S 1 



Beet sugar statistics; 

Chino 48 

General 1,120, 121 

Nebraska 54 

New York 62 

United States 2,7,15 

Utah 58 

Watsonville 44 

Binghanitou (N. Y.) factory 144 

Bounty: 

Federal 199,200 

Foreign 19S 

State: 52.198 

Bruner, Entomologist Lawrence 113 

Buildings, beet sugar, illustrated: 

Alvarado 33, 173 

Bay City 15 

(aro 1S3 

Chino 45 

Grand Island 53 

La Grande 57 

Lehi 35,111,115 

Los Alamitos 37, 173 

Menomonee Falls 61 

Mammoth 181 

New York's first 145 

Norfolk 49 

Ogden sugar mill's shed 165 

Pacific Ill 

Pecos valley 59 

St. Louis park 160 

Union 175 

Watsonville 170,179 

Buildings appropriate forfactory 132-134,138 

California sugar industry: 

Alameda sugar company 32,43, 109, 172 

Chino factory 44-50,55, 175 

Cost of growing beets 119-125,183-188 

Crockett refining company 176 

Los Alamitos company ,50,176 

New Union sugar company 174, 175 

Oxnard industry 152,176,186 

Watsonville factory 43, 170, 174, 175, 178 

Canadian beet sugar attempts 32 

Cane sugar industry 17-28 

Capital.'brilliant opening for 136 

Carbonation tanks 30, 169 

Cautions to beet sugar beginners 137-140 

Centrifugals 161,177 

Chans : 

Beet and cane areas 72 

Localities that want factories 42 

Sugar factories in the U. S 142 

Chino beet growers' union 48 

Chino (Cal.) factory 44-50,55,124,175 

C!ongress, action of awaited 50 

Co-operative sugar factories 135 

Cost and profits of beet culture 119-125,183-188 

Crockett refining company 176 

Crystallizers 37,163 

Cultivation 90-92, 149-1.51, 178-179 

Cultivators 89,94,97,99,149, 185,199 

Davenport, Prof 156 

Dethlefsen Bros 184 

Digging and topping machines 102 

DingleV tariff 2,3 

Dyer, Kdvvard F 202 

Dver E. H 202,204 

Dyer, E. H. * Co S7, 50 

Eddy (N. M.) factory 58,60.69 

Emery, Director 168 

Expansion vs. domestic sugar 7-10 

Experiment before starting 127,139 

ExperimeTit stations, list of , .. 128 

Factory: 

Capacity of 137 

Close to beets 130 

Co-operative 135 

Cost of building 132-134 

Equipment in detail 37 

Factory contracts with growers 205-210 

Howto build 132 

How to get 127 

Management 134 

Where and how to Start 130 

Fftctorips * 

Alvarado (Cal.) 32,43,109,172 

I Bay City (Mich) lS,m 

222) 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



223 



THE KILBY MANDFACTURING COMPANY, 



FOUNDERS 




AND 




MACHINISTS, 



CLKVKLAND, OHIO. 



NEW YORK OFFICE, 
H4 Times Building... 




BUILDERS OF 

G)mplete Machinery for Beet^ Cane and Glucose 
Sugarhouses and Refineries* 



224 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Blnghamton (N. T.) 144 

Chino (Cal.) 44-50,55.124,175 

Eildy (Pecos Valley, N. M.) 68,60,69 

Grand Island (Neb.) 50,53,66, 120, 122 

La Grande (Ore.) 168,201 

Lelii (Utah) 64-60,63,67,111, 115 

Los Alaniitos (Cal) 50, 176 

Menonionee Falls (Wis.) 60, 61, si 

Norfolli (Neb.) 52,56,119 

Pacinc at Oxnard (Cal.) HI, 152, 176, 186 

Rome (N. Y.) 144, 145, 151 

St. Louis Park (Minu.) 159 

Salinas City (Cal.) 50 

Union mill, Santa Barbara county, Cal 174,175 

■\Vatsonviile (Cal.) 43, 170, 174, 175, 178 

Factory, equipment of model: Air pump; barrel packers; 
beet cutter; beet elevator; centrifugals; conveyor; 
crystallizers; diffusion batteries; elevator; engine 
beet-driver; engine sugar-driver; filter presses; first 
carbonators; juice tank; mixer; receiving tank: second 
carbonators; strike pan; sugar dryer; tank forditfusion 

battery; water tank 37 

Factory management 134 

Failures, reasons for first 4, 6, 12 

Farmers experiences in raising beets... 122-125 

Farmers, paymen t to for beets 44, 48, 200 

Farwell, Charles A 13 

Fertilization 80, 100,138, 148, 178 

Filter presses 30,67 

Flint, Thomas, Jr 183 

Fungus, the leaf -spot 156 

Gird (Richard) and Chino's beginning 48 

Goessinaiin, Dr. C. A 34 

Grand Island (Neb.) factory 50,53,56,120,122 

Granger, superintendent 186 

Graves, H. C. i Son 187 

Harvesting beets 100-103, 151, 180 

Harvesting machinery 102,107,151 

Hawaiian imposition 13 

Hauling beets to factory 102 

Hoeing and thinning 92,95,96,150,161,180,183 

Hilgard, director 172 

Horse hoe 97 

Huston, chemist 66 

Irrigation 96,100,191 

Juice from beets analyzed 40 

Kilby Manufacturing Co 37 

Korn, K. G 60 

Labor, new field for 137 

La Grande (Ore.) factory 168,201 

Lehi( Utah) factory 54,60,63,67, 111, 115 

Los Alaniitos coinpany 60, 176 

Machinery in cultivation and harvesting: 

cultivator 89,94,97,99,149,185,199 

digging and topping machines 102 

harvesting machinery 102, 107, 151 

mechanical washer for beets 155 

plows 79,83,148, 188 

puller 105 

seeding machine 85,89, 149 

weeder 149 

Machinery, factory: 

battery 157,163,186 

carboiiation tanks 30, 159 

centrifugals 161, 177 

crystallizers 163 

filter presses 30, 67 

pulp aump 169 

rotary lime-reburning kilns 152 

unloading-dump 193 

Machinery for factory, named and defined 37 

Wachinery, second-hand, useless. 138 

HcKinley tariff 36 

Michigan's sugar Industry 15, 198 

Menonionee Falls (Wis.) factory. 60,61, 81 

Mirint-hota's industry 159 

Molasses from beets, use of 110, 112 

Morse, P. W 178, 194 

Nebraska's enterprise 60,62,63,56, 120, 122 

Nebr .ska, map of eastern 56 

New Union sugar company. 174, 175 

New Mexico's works 32, .'J8, 60, 69 

Norfolk (Neb.) factory 52,56, 119 

New Y(nk State 144,145,146,150,151,153,198 

Ogden sugar company 168 

Oil for fuel 48,55 

Oregon sugar company 168, 171, 177, 201 

Oxnard (Cal.) factory 152, 176, 186 

Oxnard, .lames G '■'* 

Oxnard, Henry T 31,34 

Oxnaid Industry 152, 176, 186 

Pacific factory at Oxnard. Cal HI, 152, 176, 1(S6 

Pecos Valley beet sugar building 69 

Pecos Valley beet sugar company «^0 

Pests of the beet and their remedies 112, 113, 156 

Philippine competition 169 

Planttood removed 15 



Plowing: 

before harvesting^ IM 

effect of deep 189 

steam vs. team 189-190 

usually practiced 82, 146, 148, 174, 179. 188 

Plows 79,83,100,148,188 

Portraits: 

President R. M. Allen 43 

Edward F.Dyer 202 

E. H. Dyer 202 

Charles A. Farwell 19 

Dr. C. A. Guessmann 34 

Henry T. Oxnard 81 

CJaus Sprickels 202 

Lewis S. Ware 34 

Dr. H. W. Wiley 84 

Plumb, Prof. C. S 156 

Puller forbeets\\\\\'.V.".'.V.'.'.'.".*'.'."'.***.*.*.*.'.*.'.*.*.*.''.".'.*.'.'..'.*'* 105 

Pulp as stock feed 108, 194 

Pulp dump 169 

Rome (N. Y.) factory 144,145,151 

Root shape, on what dependent 94 

Roots, how injured 100 

Rotation for beets 78, 178 

Rotary lime-rebnrning kilns 152 

Salinas City (Cal.) factory 50 

Saylor, Charles F 187.191 

Seed 87,114-118,148,196,197 

Seed growing 118 

Seeding 88,149 

Seeding machine 65, 89, 149 

Shaw, Prof. G. W 77 

Silo, best conditions of 107 

Siloing beets and beet tops 104,105, 110, 113, 117,151 196 

covering beets on day of harvesting 105 

loss of sugar by 106 

process of 105 

pulp for stock 108, 194 

Storing beets, various methods 104-108, 113, 117, 1.51 

Snyder, Chemist Henry 6b, 159 

Sorghum craze 6 

Soil, best for sugar beets 78,138,146, 148, 172,176 

preparation of 146,151,172, 179 

treatment differs in east and west 138 

ventilation of 172 

Sowing beets 180 

Spreckels: 

Clans 36,202,203,204 

S. factory at Watsonville 43, 170, 174, 175, 178 

S. Sugar Co 179, 181 

State agricultural experiment stations 128 

Stubbs, Prof. W. C 17 

Subsoiliiig 84-87,146 

Sugar beet (see beet growing). 

Sugar chemists, reliability of 127 

Sugar beet reports from various states 64-71 

Sugar beet states, principal: 

California 43-50, 55, 121, 124, 152, 170-181 

Michigan l.=>3, 154 

Minnesota 159, WO, 161,169 

Nebraska 50-54, 56, 12!)-122, 127, 162 

New Mexico 166 

New York 113-153 

Oregon 57, 171,177 

Other 60-70,154,156, 162-166,201 

Utah 35,64,63, 121,127,163, 165-168 

Sugar content necessary 138 

Sugar factory, how get 127 

Sugar importation 1, 2 

Sugar schools advi.sed. 139 

Sugar trust, how to compete with 131 

Sukey,Prof. P. G 200 

Swatcher, Herman 188 

Technical terms explained 38 

Thinning and hoeing 92,95,96,1.50,151. 180, 183 

Topping 100, 102, 180 

Typical beet forms , 32,75,77, 101, 183 

Union mill, Cal 174, 175 

Unloading dump 19S 

Utah's industry 64-60,63,67,96,111,115 

Varieties of beets 74 

Voorhees, director 158 

Walburn-Swenson Co 132 

Ware, Lewis S 34,110,196 

Washer for beets 155 

Waste products, profits of 112 

Weeder 149 

Waters, Prof. H.J 163 

Watsonville (Cal.) factory 43,170,174,175,178 

Weems, chemist 162 

Wilev,Dr. H. W 39.34,73,201 

Willard, Prof. J. T 163 

Wisconsin's industry 66,61,81 

AYilson, Prof. James 68 

Wilson, Secretary 162 

Wilson tariff 36 



ADVERTISEME]S"TS. 235 



American 

Tool and Machine Co. 



109 BEACH ST. 
BOSTON, MASS. 
U. S. A. 



FACTORY AT HYDE PARK, MASS. 

THE MANUFACTURERS OF 

machines with llltxers 

SCROLL OR BELT CONVEYORS, 
ELEVATORS, ETC. 



««««««««« 



77JE BUILD these machines in four sizes, viz.: 30 inches 
^^ diameter, 36' inches diameter, 4O inches diameter and 
$4 inches diameter. We also build a 10-inch diameter 
Machine for Experimental and Laboratory purposes. 

Have furnished these Machines forall of the successful 
Cane and Beet Sugar Factories and Refineries, and can refer 
to any or all of them. 

We furnish Cast Iron Framing for these Machines for 
Plantation or any place where Framing or Supports are 
necessary. 

Always ready and willing to furnish plans, specifications 
and prices on Machines for all kinds of work. Write us fo» 
further information. 



22G 



A D VERTISEM ENTS. 



E. H. DYER & CO. 



BUILDERS OF 




Beet Sugar macbinery 
factories and Refineries 

77IILL contract to furnish the machinery or build works complete 
.^V in every detail, on modern principles, with improved machinery 
of the latest design, guarantee their successful operation and furnish 
skilled men to run them. 

The builders of the Lehi, Utah; Los Alamitos Sugar Co., Los 
Alamitos, Cal. ; Ogden Sugar Co., Ogden, Utah ; Oregon Sugar Co., 
La Grande, Oregon, and other factories, all of which are now in suc- 
cessful operation and to whom we refer. 

GENERAL OFFICE: 

704 and 705 New England Building, Cleveland, Ohio. 



^ 



^ 



" We take pleasure in accepting the factory 
constructed liy you, and are fully satisfied 
that the work has been accomplished in a 
strong, substantial and workmanlike manner ;^ 
all the parts being well arranged for working 
systematically, and that you have not only 
complied with the specifications in detail but 
you have made several additions and improve- 
ments for the benefit of the factory that 
were uncalled for in the contract." — Utah 
Sugar Co., Elias Morris, President ; James 
Jennings, Secretary. 



" Our factory was built by E. II. Dyer & 
Co., with guaranteed capacity of 300 tons 
per day. We have demonstrated that tliey 
gave us eA'erything that was contracted for, 
we have run over 400 tons a day. We have 
had no serious breakages since we com-^; 
menced five years ago, that entailed any loss 
of time." — Thomas R. Cutler, Manager 
Lehi Factory. 



" In regard to the factory and its builders, 
E. II. Dyer & Co., we have this to say, that 
the quality, arrangement and efficiency of the 
I' machinery seem to be most perfect, enabling 
us to do the greatest amount of work with 
the minimum amount of labor and fuel.*** 
The factory and its product have been perfect- 
ly satisfactory in every jaarticular, having run 
over its estimated capacity and the product 
is , pronounced by all to be the finest sugar 
in the market." — J. Hoss Clark. 



"The most successful builders of beet 
sugar machinery in this country are E. H. 
Dyer & Co., of Cleveland, Ohio. Factories 
after their design and supplied with niachin- 
"^ery of their manufacture have the notable 
distinction of paying dividends the first year 
of operation." — Los Alamitos Sugar Co. 



ADVEKTISEMENTS. 



227 



itt ARCHITECTS ENGINEERS tk 

S OThi^ :E^I^E>I> \^. \^OT^lE(^ oo. t 

t 139-143 Rees Street, foot of Dayton, CHICAGO, U. S. A. t 

'i^ We are the Builders of the Latest and Most Improved I5eet Sugar Factory in the World. it 




ICE AND REFRIGERATING MACHINE AND AMMONIA FITTINGS f^ 
''*^€e^e^&&f^&&&S^^€^^&6^«&^€^f^^€^&&&&^&«:*^^ %33333333'i33333333i9333333'^^ 

MARSH STEAM PUMPS 

FOR SUGAR HOUSE WORK. 



Highest Efficiency 



Boiler Feed Piiraps 
Suieef Water Piiraps 
Uaciiiira Pan Fliinps 




Lowest First Cost 



Syriip Plirnps 

Jaice Pdnips 

Filter Press Paraps 



.... Dry Uaciiiira Paraps .... 

Awarded the **GoId Medal" at the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition at Omaha. 



TSi BATTLE CREEK STEAM PUMP CO. 

BATTLE CREEK, 
MICHIGAN. u» ot 



Write for Catalogue No. 9. 



L'28 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 




The Jarecki 

Chemical Co., 

SANDUSKY, OHIO. 



■alat)lePhosAcid-IO-l|S 
soluble Pks Acii-Jli- 1 *^ 

MAMUFACTURED'^V 

!E JARECKI CHEfflCAL 



rianufacturers 



^^M^^ 




FISH riANURES. 



Illustrated Pamphlet on Application. 



BEET FERTILIZER. 

77JE ARE the only manufacturers in the Country who have 
given any attention and study to the matter of fertilizers 
adapted to the Sugar Beet. During the season of '97 we 
grew numerous experimental plots with various chemicals 
in every possible combination, also furnished trial lots to some 
of the largest beet growers in the Country, and later ana- 
lyzed 130 samples of beets grown with these fertilizers from 
data so collected. We have found that a fertilizer containing 
10 to 12 per cent. Available Phosphoric Acid, 2 to 3 per cent. 
Ammonia, and 1 to 2 per cent. Potash gave the best result 
considering the yield, per cent, of sugar and purity. Our 
experiments also show that Potash in large quantities should 
be avoided, as it invariably produced beets low in sugar and 
purity, although the tonnage was largely increased. 
Full information and prices upon application. 

THE JARECKI CHEMICAL CO. 

SANDUSKY, OHIO. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



229 



TPhe Hepwortti 

TS the only Self Balancing Cen- 
trifugal that never wobbles 
or needs a " boot-jack," and, of 
all 40-inch machines, the genu- 
ine and latest improved Hepworth 
is the only one from which one 
man, with no other tools or 
tackle ihan a Monkey wrench, 
can remove brake or bearings 
without so much as throwing 
off the belt. 

S. S. HEPWORTH CO. 

ISCortlandt St, New York. 
CENTRIFUGAL MACHINES and OTHER SUGAR MACHINERY. 




SUGAR BEET AND 

FRUIT LANDS 

IN THE 

Great Arkansas Valley of Colorado, 

At the front door of the prosperous 
and growing manufacturing 

THE SUBURBAN 

Land and Investment Co. 

Still has for sale 7,000 acres of such lands, most- 
ly in cultivation and with Perpetual Water 
Right in the Bessemer Irrigating Ditch, in 
tracts of from five acres upward and on easy 
terms of payment. 

Additional thousands of acres of beet lands 
available for a sugar factory. 

Tests of 1 2 samples of sugar beets grown upon 
these lands in 189S show average of 17-31% 
sugar in the beet and 83.03% co-efficient of 
purity. 

For full particulars address 

The Suburban Land and Investment Co. 

PUEBLO, COLORADO 



Ougar beets will pay— 

Tf 

Thatis,IPtheyarecultiv;ue<t by modern methods, 
rapidly and cheaply. If yu 'nre going to plant 
and hoe tliem in tlie old-fasliioued wiiys, you 
niiKht as well try to malte money wliiitling slioe- 
pegs. 

The "Planet Jr." Tools 

FOR SUGAR BEETS 

Will often make the diffeience between loss and 
profir, between failure and success. 

The Hill -and Drill Seeders sow beet seed 
swiftlv and perfectly. 

The Wheel Hoes cultivate them nt any stage 
of growt!). very rapidly, very close, and without 
injury to the pliints. 

Tiie N.!. 8 Korse Hoe and Cultivator and the 
special Beet Cultivator are admirable. fi>r beet 
cnlture on a moderate scale, and in connection 
witli otlier crops. ^^ 

But, larije growers must have the "Planet Jr. 
Four-row Beet Hoe. It is a marvel of speed and 
ex<rellence. Four rows at once; pivoted wheels, 
ailjustahle for widih, tliat .steer by foot when 
riding, bv h;nid when walking. Depth and close- 
ness regul ited instanllv; special shape hoes, with 
rounding cut find plaiit shield. No other tool 
approa.-hes it. 

Oet the "Planet Jr." catalogue and study up 
on the Sugar Beet tools. Mailed free. 

S. L. ALLEN & CO. 
1107 Market St., Philadelphia. 



230 ADVERTISEMENTS. 



J840. HIGHEST AWARD J876-J897. 



American Machinery 
^ ^ American Plants* 

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR MACHINERY. 

Every Mechanical Part of a Plant For Making: 
Su§:ar Prom Beet Roots. 




Made here in the United States and guaranteed, aa 
good as any that can be made or used for the business. 

50 YEARS OF PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IN 
DEVELOPMENT OF SUGAR MACHINERY. 

Have furnished all machinery for all early Beet 
Plants at Portland, Farnham and Wilmington, and for 
Experiment at Washington, D. C, for Department of 
Agriculture, and at Government Station at Magnolia, 
Louisiana. 



INSTALLED ON ALL OF THE BEST PLANTATIONS 


IN LOUISIANA. 


IN CUBA. 


IN CUBA. 


Oxnard Spraguc, 


Hormiguero, 


Occitania, 


Caffeny Central, 


Purio, 


Andrieta, 


A. C. Minor, 


Constancia, 


Armenia, 


Hon. T. S. Wilkinson, 


Regfular, 


Caracas, 


Hon. H. C. Warmooth, 


Porlugalettc, 


Senado, 


McCall Bros., 


Teresa, 


Flora de Cuba« 



Also Brazil, Peru, Sandwich Islands, and every Sugar-Producing Coimtry in 
the world, and all refineries in the United States, and 

Many Plants and Different Apparatus Which are Placed Through 
Resident A§:ents or Commission Houses. 



A- W. COLWELL, 39 Cortlandt Street, New York City. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 231 



lll(i$cbincnf(ibnk] mmbtm, 

* ■ ^ \ near Cologne, 

GrevenbrolcbJ «"»""» 

Rew Vork Office, ii Broaaway, Rooms $66 ana $67. 



ENGINEERING WORKS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF 

Machinery and Apparatus 

For Beet- and Cane-Sugar Factories 
and Refineries* 



I SOLE PROPRIETORS OF DR. BOCK'S | 

I PATENTED PROCESS OF | 

I " Crystallization inmovemenC' f 

'i Si 

Sy4™iV■'A\v'iWi^^»i^^■'iV^»,^■VJ;^■lv;^v■i■7^v■.4^vx■■l^•■lV 

More than 600 of our crystallizers are now in operation in various 
factories, here and abroad. In the United States our Crystalh'zers are 
in operation in the factories at Watsonville and Spreckels, California; 
Bay City, Michigan; Eddy, New Mexico; Kenil worth Sugar Estates, 
Ltd., Orange Grove Plantation, Louisiana. 



We own other valuable patents, and supply only the most modern 
and improved machinery. We have long experience in equipping 
American factories ; having, among others, furnished plants for Mr. 
Claus Spreckels's factory at Watsonville and his new mammoth factory 
at Salinas (Spreckels), California. 



232 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



A Beet Sugar pactorg 
Wanted at Ottawa, III. 

84 miles west of Chicago on C. B. 
& Q. and C. R. I. & P. R. R. and Illi- 
nois & Michigan canal. On the 
Illinois and Fox rivers. 
Very rich farming country in sugar 
beet belt. Crops never fail. Experi- 
mental patches of sugar beets show 
very best results. 

Sugar Beets Growrp f4cre Took pirst 

Premium at llli9ois State pair. 

Fuel cheap. Lime rock suitable for 
refining purposes on a factory site. 
Abundance of flowing artesian 
water. Population of county would 
consume product of large factory. 
A factory site of 25 to 30 acres 
would be donated free under proper 
conditions. Address 

Ottau/a Development Asso'n. 



$25,000, to complete initial de- 
velopment of water supply system 
for good town and 30,000 acres 
selected valley land surrounding. 
Located on main line trans-conti- 
nental railroad in Southwest. Alti- 
tude, soil and climate ideally fitted 
for sugar beets, and all products, 
as proven. Over $20,000 invested. 
Xo bonds issued. Safety and large 
profits assured. 

Address Box 524, Greenfield, Mass. 

CAAA ACRES of tlie ricliest sugar lands in 
C/V/V/V/ South Florida, easily drained, includ 
ing drainage rights, etc. $1.50 per acre. 

From an investment in tl)e Polk County Pine- 
apple Company you can look for 50% dividends. 
Sure, safe and regular. 

C. IRVING PAGE, Auburndale, Florida. 



The only book on the subject* 



Sugar Beet Seed 

A work for FARMERS, SEEDSMEN and CHEMISTS, contain- 
ing Historical, Botanical and Theoretical Data, combined with 
Practical Directions for the Production of Superior Sugar Beet Seed. 

By LEWIS S. WARE, M. E. 

Editor of "The Sugar Beet," Author of "The Sugar Beet," "Vari- 
ous Sources of Sugar," " Production, requirements and Selection 
of Sugar Beet Seed ;" Member of the American Philosophical 
Society, Fellow of L'EcoIe Centrale des Arts, Agriculture et 
Manufactures, Association des Chimistes, Paris, etc. 

PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED. 
Price, $2.00 net, postpaid to any part of the world* 

Address the exclusive publishers, 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 

52 LAFAYETTE PLACE, NEW YORK. 

Orange Judd Company is headquarters for all literature on the sugar industry. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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